Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 623,340 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 7,009 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.07% of Mastercard worth $307,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This represents a 23.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $591.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $549.16.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MA traded up $1.47 on Tuesday, hitting $528.07. The company had a trading volume of 902,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,460,936. The business has a 50 day moving average of $507.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $474.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $484.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.83, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $404.32 and a 12-month high of $534.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.97%.

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.