Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Boston Research & Management Inc.

Boston Research & Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,337 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 160 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 2.8% of Boston Research & Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Boston Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $11,235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Addison Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted 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 valued at $1,651,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% during the fourth 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 period. Augustine Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $946,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC lifted 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 worth $1,182,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MA shares. KeyCorp upped their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays increased their price objective on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Macquarie upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 3.0 %

Mastercard stock opened at $540.57 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $550.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $527.19. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company has a market cap of $492.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a share buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.