Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 19.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,263 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 302 shares during the period. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $665,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Addison Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 493 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,651,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $509.78 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $536.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $529.34. 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 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23. The company has a market cap of $464.77 billion, a PE ratio of 36.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 target price (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $607.96.

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.