Foster & Motley Inc. Cuts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Foster & Motley Inc. cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,273 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 201 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 661.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 134 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was 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 directly owns 47,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,672,828.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 47,640 shares in the company, valued at $22,672,828.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.06, for a total value of $6,230,132.52. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,388,649.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 257,630 shares of company stock worth $118,303,470 over the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $535.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.23.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock opened at $462.50 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $357.85 and a one year high of $490.00. The firm has a market cap of $431.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.10, a PEG ratio of 1.76 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $471.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $435.45.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results 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. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

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.