Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI decreased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,984 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 337 shares during the period. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $574.40 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $579.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $561.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $519.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.97.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.50%.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total transaction of $10,456,032.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,330,922.26. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,391 shares of company stock valued at $20,836,514 over the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $645.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, August 11th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $630.89.

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.