Mastercard Incorporated (MA) Position Lowered by United Asset Strategies Inc.

United Asset Strategies Inc. cut its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 183 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 1.5% of United Asset Strategies Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 260.0% in the first quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 900 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Lipe & Dalton acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at about $101,000. Israel Discount Bank of New York GFN acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $110,000. Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 10.9% in the first quarter. Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC now owns 1,019 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Archford Capital Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 767.6% in the fourth quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 1,258 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. 75.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Incorporated (MA) opened at 129.27 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $92.11 and a 12 month high of $130.20. The company has a market cap of $138.56 billion, a PE ratio of 33.75 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $123.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $115.15.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 2nd. The credit services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.65 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 72.95% and a net margin of 37.79%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post $4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 5th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.98%.

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Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. BidaskClub raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 12th. Citigroup Inc. raised their price target on Mastercard from $123.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 19th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, April 20th. Vetr downgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $115.30 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, May 22nd. Finally, Credit Suisse Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $125.40.

In related news, CEO Ajay Banga sold 161,742 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total transaction of $18,967,484.34. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 333,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,108,958.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 29,206 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.63, for a total value of $3,727,561.78. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 112,649,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,377,399,910.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 479,349 shares of company stock worth $58,430,592 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Company Profile

MasterCard Incorporated is a technology company that connects consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses across the world, enabling them to use electronic forms of payment. The Company operates through Payment Solutions segment. The Company allows user to make payments by creating a range of payment solutions and services using its brands, which include MasterCard, Maestro and Cirrus.