MV Capital Management Inc. Sells 38 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

MV Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 38 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business’s 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays increased their price objective on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of MA opened at $540.57 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $550.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $526.65. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $582.23. The company has a market capitalization of $492.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.92, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS 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, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

About Mastercard

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.