Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC Sells 6,902 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 18.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,904 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 6,902 shares during the quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $17,010,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter worth $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Robbins Farley boosted its stake in Mastercard by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 54 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 45.2% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 61 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock traded down $2.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $549.45. The stock had a trading volume of 156,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,250,653. The firm has a market capitalization of $493.40 billion, a PE ratio of 33.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.83. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $555.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $564.32.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.52. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.65% and a return on equity of 203.92%. The firm had revenue of $8.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Mastercard from $660.00 to $668.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Daiwa Capital Markets set a $610.00 price target on shares of Mastercard and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Compass Point upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $620.00 to $735.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Evercore ISI set a $610.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $685.00 target price on Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $669.18.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.