Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. Decreases Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. cut its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,717 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 902 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MA. Robinswood Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. First Pacific Financial lifted its stake in Mastercard by 113.8% during the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 62 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Mastercard stock traded up $3.13 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $569.71. 1,862,708 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,522,268. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The firm has a market cap of $499.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.76. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $464.52 and a 1 year high of $601.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $572.03 and its 200 day moving average is $530.19.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.08 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%.Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.15 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 19.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on MA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Mastercard from $665.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $655.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $597.00 to $710.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $554.00 to $633.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $680.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 16,628 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.68, for a total value of $9,439,383.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 115,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,806,033.28. This represents a 12.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sachin Mehra sold 7,444 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.13, for a total value of $4,296,155.72. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 40,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,613,851.08. The trade was a 15.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 67,618 shares of company stock worth $38,854,630. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Company Profile

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses. The company facilitates the authorization, clearing and settlement of electronic payment transactions, while generally not issuing cards or extending credit itself. Its network supports payments made in stores, online and through mobile devices.

Mastercard’s products and services include consumer and commercial payment cards, digital payment solutions, payment processing, fraud prevention, cybersecurity, identity verification, data and analytics, and open banking tools.