Hixon Zuercher LLC Sells 4,336 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Hixon Zuercher LLC reduced its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 25.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,888 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 4,336 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 2.5% of Hixon Zuercher LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Hixon Zuercher LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 55.0% during the first quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 93 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BNP Paribas downgraded Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $540.17.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,363,085.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total value of $55,746,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,033,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,113,923,465.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 327,370 shares of company stock worth $153,495,958. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $505.53 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $497.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $467.65. The company has a market cap of $467.03 billion, a PE ratio of 38.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $384.20 and a one year high of $527.90.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.97%.

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.