Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Position Cut by NBW Capital LLC

NBW Capital LLC trimmed its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,045 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 44 shares during the quarter. NBW Capital LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,711,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 661.5% during the third quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 4,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $435.00, for a total transaction of $1,740,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,712,225. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 4,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $435.00, for a total transaction of $1,740,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,712,225. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.06, for a total value of $6,230,132.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,388,649.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,728 shares of company stock worth $19,479,753 in the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE:MA traded down $4.78 on Thursday, hitting $455.38. 908,201 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,391,370. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $357.85 and a 1 year high of $490.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $471.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $433.21. The company has a market cap of $424.82 billion, a PE ratio of 38.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 22.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $535.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.23.

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.