Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 41.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,673 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,173 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MA. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth $31,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, August 1st. Seaport Res Ptn raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $650.00 target price for the company. Citigroup raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $638.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total value of $10,456,032.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,330,922.26. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of MA stock opened at $573.59 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $465.59 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. The stock has a market cap of $518.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $579.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $564.74. 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 (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The business 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 posted $3.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.50%.

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.