Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Kelman Lazarov Inc.

Kelman Lazarov Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,059 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 33 shares during the quarter. Kelman Lazarov Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 493 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,651,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. now owns 475 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $946,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. This 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MA. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $633.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $607.96.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $515.90 on Thursday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $545.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $528.04. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $582.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $470.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.14, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

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.