Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Sells 50 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 960 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MA. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 661.5% in the third quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 34.0% in the fourth quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 134 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MA. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Two 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.23.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $456.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $357.85 and a 52-week high of $490.00. The firm has a market cap of $426.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.63, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s fifty day moving average is $471.66 and its 200 day moving average is $434.80.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. Research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.32%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $21,388,649.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 46,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,388,649.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the firm’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 value of $3,736,447.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 148,630 shares of company stock worth $68,440,330 in the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.