CENTRAL TRUST Co Reduces Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

CENTRAL TRUST Co lessened its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,637 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,806 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $19,079,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,584,606 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $36,399,279,000 after purchasing an additional 330,872 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,651,904 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,574,347,000 after purchasing an additional 43,881 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after purchasing an additional 8,035,099 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,082,729 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,241,297,000 after purchasing an additional 71,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,327,168 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,908,973,000 after purchasing an additional 113,238 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,423,320. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,423,320. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 340,809 shares of company stock worth $159,610,703. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Argus upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Mastercard from $531.00 to $536.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Oppenheimer began coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $525.68.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1 %

MA opened at $513.73 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $477.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day moving average of $490.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $464.93. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $359.77 and a 12 month high of $518.82.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. On average, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

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.