Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 12.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,748 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,829 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth about $660,652,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 145.6% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,777,468 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $784,148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,053,616 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth approximately $259,071,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $203,198,000. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 13.3% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,293,617 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,586,107,000 after purchasing an additional 387,317 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Barclays increased their price target on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $531.00 to $536.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $525.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $524.64.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MA traded up $2.58 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $516.34. 2,604,684 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,442,889. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The firm has a market cap of $480.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.04, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $486.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $464.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $359.77 and a twelve month high of $518.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,423,320. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,423,320. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Profile

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.