Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,867 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,572 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 0.6% of Securian Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $22,677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth about $31,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MA. Citigroup upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Compass Point set a $620.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Mastercard from $638.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $690.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $657.48.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $580.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $521.02 billion, a PE ratio of 37.10, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.86. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $555.93 and its 200-day moving average is $566.28.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.28% and a return on equity of 202.03%. The business’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. 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. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.44%.

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.