Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by AXS Investments LLC

AXS Investments LLC lessened its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 19.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,606 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,646 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 1.3% of AXS Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. AXS Investments LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Mastercard by 820.0% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 54.1% during the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.73, for a total value of $1,047,276.21. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,702,934.17. The trade was a 10.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 3,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,793,880. The trade was a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,005 shares of company stock valued at $3,689,976. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $551.15 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $503.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $516.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $464.52 and a 1 year high of $601.77. The firm has a market cap of $486.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.90, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.73.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.73 EPS. Analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler began coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $597.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, June 25th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Mastercard from $671.00 to $664.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $605.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 price objective on Mastercard in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $653.92.

Mastercard Company Profile

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.