Eudaimonia Partners LLC Decreases Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Eudaimonia Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA – Get Rating) by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,866 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 360 shares during the quarter. Eudaimonia Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 13.0% in the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,909,008 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,489,253,000 after buying an additional 3,102,135 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,874,093 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,238,920,000 after buying an additional 121,731 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,870,234 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,167,420,000 after buying an additional 137,324 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,409,476 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,022,062,000 after buying an additional 188,626 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,997,669 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,892,145,000 after buying an additional 39,757 shares during the period. 74.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MA shares. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $395.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 5th. Redburn Partners started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, November 29th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $445.00 to $388.00 in a research report on Monday, October 10th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $415.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Friday, October 28th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $405.23.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 7,064 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total value of $2,260,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,586,240. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 7,064 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total value of $2,260,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,586,240. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 177,211 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.89, for a total transaction of $56,688,026.79. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,566,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,809,852,774.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 367,819 shares of company stock valued at $117,733,271 in the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA opened at $376.28 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $276.87 and a 52 week high of $399.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $361.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.59, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $353.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $334.63.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 27th. The credit services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.22% and a return on equity of 148.94%. The firm had revenue of $5.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.66 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 10.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 6th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.78%.

Mastercard Company Profile

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Mastercard, Inc operates as a technology company. The firm engages in the payments industry that connects consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and business. It offers payment solutions for the development and implementation of credit, debit, prepaid, commercial and payment programs.