Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by ICW Investment Advisors LLC

ICW Investment Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,455 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 2.2% of ICW Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. ICW Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,075,358 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,593,025,000 after acquiring an additional 251,516 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,966,348 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,153,957,000 after purchasing an additional 515,481 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,510,259 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,181,964,000 after purchasing an additional 306,663 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Mastercard by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,314,881 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,104,214,000 after purchasing an additional 56,642 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,557,530 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,804,372,000 after buying an additional 16,019 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.23.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of MA stock traded down $5.47 on Wednesday, reaching $445.73. 2,480,962 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,409,122. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $357.85 and a 12-month high of $490.00. The company has a market capitalization of $415.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $471.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $437.38.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 22.32%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 114,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.57, for a total transaction of $52,732,980.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 96,767,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,761,653,661.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 114,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.57, for a total transaction of $52,732,980.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,767,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,761,653,661.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 480,630 shares of company stock valued at $221,479,470. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.