S.A. Mason LLC Sells 74 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

S.A. Mason LLC cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 74 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 1.4% of S.A. Mason LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. S.A. Mason LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,156,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Bollard Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 8,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $430.26, for a total value of $3,829,314.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 46,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,003,217.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,527,976,823. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 8,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $430.26, for a total transaction of $3,829,314.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,003,217.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 50,628 shares of company stock valued at $23,309,067. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $477.95 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $463.16 and a 200 day moving average of $426.09. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $352.80 and a 52-week high of $490.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The company has a market capitalization of $445.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $11.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $479.62.

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.