Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Sells 2,945 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lessened its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 90.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 318 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,945 shares during the quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Robbins Farley raised its position in Mastercard by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 54 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc lifted its stake in Mastercard by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 45.2% during the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 61 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sagard Holdings Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of MA stock opened at $515.92 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market cap of $460.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.23, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average of $545.00 and a 200-day moving average of $559.46. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $465.59 and a 12-month high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.52. Mastercard had a return on equity of 203.92% and a net margin of 45.65%.The business had revenue of $8.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.82 earnings per share. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Mastercard from $665.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Evercore set a $610.00 target price on Mastercard in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $739.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $669.27.

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.