Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Position Trimmed by Notis McConarty Edward

Notis McConarty Edward trimmed its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,688 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,131 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 4.8% of Notis McConarty Edward’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Notis McConarty Edward’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $9,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company’s 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard 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 sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % 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.

Mastercard Trading Down 7.7 %

MA opened at $489.94 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $550.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $528.08. 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 Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $582.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $446.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.27, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its 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 net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MA shares. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 target price (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

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.