Rafferty Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Rafferty Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 267,420 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 22,238 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $146,578,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 10Elms LLP purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on MA shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $645.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, August 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $650.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $617.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total transaction of $601,447.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,815.17. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 56,269 shares of company stock valued at $30,634,699. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $593.34 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $564.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $555.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $536.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released 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 business had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.50 earnings per share. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio 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.