Morse Asset Management Inc Decreases Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Morse Asset Management Inc decreased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,109 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 240 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 1.0% of Morse Asset Management Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,498,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Goldstein Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the third quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $749,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. grew its stake in Mastercard by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 2,190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,081,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in Mastercard by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 1,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $834,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Oldfather Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oldfather Financial Services LLC now owns 827 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% in the third quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 455 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. BNP Paribas lowered Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $549.16.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were 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 $7,363,085.66. This represents a 23.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $526.18 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $482.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $404.32 and a 52 week high of $535.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $511.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $477.41.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.39 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.97%.

Mastercard Company 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.