Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,506 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $793,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $925,662,000 after acquiring an additional 241,297 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard by 4.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,497,160,000 after purchasing an additional 138,842 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 2,978 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,470,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,540,000. Finally, Family Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 858 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $424,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MA. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn cut Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:MA opened at $535.14 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a market cap of $487.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.53, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $547.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $524.95. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $582.23.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

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.