Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Liontrust Investment Partners LLP

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP decreased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 56.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 21,612 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 27,701 shares during the quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $12,145,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $690.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley set a $665.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $638.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Citigroup upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $713.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $654.81.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE MA opened at $571.40 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $465.59 and a 1-year high of $601.77. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $554.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $566.39. The company has a market capitalization of $513.12 billion, a PE ratio of 36.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.87.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. Mastercard had a return on equity of 202.03% and a net margin of 45.28%.The firm had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.89 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.44%.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions.