Stokes Family Office LLC Sells 2,781 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Stokes Family Office LLC trimmed its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 66.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,384 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,781 shares during the quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth $36,000. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 134 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $493.55.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.6 %

MA stock traded up $2.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $443.58. The stock had a trading volume of 3,711,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,507,301. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $357.85 and a one year high of $490.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The company’s 50 day moving average is $470.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $437.44. The company has a market capitalization of $413.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.09% and a return on equity of 183.70%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.32 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $47,527,976,823. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at $47,527,976,823. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total transaction of $3,736,447.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 47,640 shares in the company, valued at $22,672,828.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 583,088 shares of company stock valued at $266,873,978. Corporate insiders own 0.13% 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.