Demars Financial Group LLC Decreases Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Demars Financial Group LLC lowered its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,998 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 184 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 0.5% of Demars Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Demars Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Cypress Wealth Services LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 864 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,996 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $851,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors lifted its position in Mastercard by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 1,037 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO lifted its position in Mastercard by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 598 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Tufton Capital Management lifted its position in Mastercard by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 604 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total value of $7,632,649.78. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 257,630 shares of company stock valued at $118,303,470 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $466.20 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $357.85 and a fifty-two week high of $490.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $471.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $435.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The firm has a market cap of $434.91 billion, a PE ratio of 39.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. The firm had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Raymond James upped their price target on Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $490.23.

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.