Insider Selling: Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) CEO Sells 15,775 Shares of Stock

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Mastercard Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $540.57 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $550.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $526.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick 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 has a market cap of $492.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.92, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on MA. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price target (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

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.