First Foundation Advisors Cuts Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

First Foundation Advisors decreased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,355 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 587 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 0.9% of First Foundation Advisors’ portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. First Foundation Advisors’ holdings in Mastercard were worth $24,936,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $607.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $504.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $459.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.32, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $582.23. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $545.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $528.04.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, analysts expect 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 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.