Founders Financial Securities LLC Sells 2,871 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Founders Financial Securities LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 83.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 573 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,871 shares during the period. Founders Financial Securities LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 286.4% in the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,837 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,270,000 after purchasing an additional 11,738 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 5.9% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,510,259 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,181,964,000 after acquiring an additional 306,663 shares in the last quarter. Alta Fox Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth $1,663,000. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 207.0% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 61,096 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $24,189,000 after acquiring an additional 41,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 16.8% during the third quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 963,110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $381,305,000 after acquiring an additional 138,700 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.23, for a total value of $134,169.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,817,095.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Hai Ling sold 2,892 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.00, for a total transaction of $1,330,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,853,200. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.23, for a total transaction of $134,169.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,063 shares in the company, valued at $1,817,095.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,163,228 shares of company stock valued at $1,428,540,870 over the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $524.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $496.91.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $441.16 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $410.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $451.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $453.31. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $359.77 and a one year high of $490.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.09% and a return on equity of 183.70%. The company’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.26 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

Mastercard 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.