Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stake Lessened by Haverford Financial Services Inc.

Haverford Financial Services Inc. reduced its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 16.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,832 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 5,220 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 4.5% of Haverford Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Haverford Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $15,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth $11,421,213,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth $4,238,764,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Mastercard by 38.6% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,526,118 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,413,936,000 after purchasing an additional 3,765,378 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Mastercard by 25.6% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,372,404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,580,909,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 1.2% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,475,807 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $44,098,695,000 after purchasing an additional 931,132 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $556.80 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $581.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $562.90. The stock has a market cap of $503.35 billion, a PE ratio of 37.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.97. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total transaction of $10,202,433.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,294. The trade was a 35.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MA. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $645.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.04.

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.