Titleist Asset Management LLC Has $314,000 Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Titleist Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 596 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 78 shares during the quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $314,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MA. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of MA opened at $485.24 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $549.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $528.45. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $582.23. The company has a market capitalization of $442.39 billion, a PE ratio of 34.93, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. 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 (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on MA. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie upped their target price on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna raised their price target on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $607.07.

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.