Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Herold Advisors Inc.

Herold Advisors Inc. lessened its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,199 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 205 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 2.0% of Herold Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Herold Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,336,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MA. J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 490 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 11,248 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,797,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 881,746 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $376,073,000 after purchasing an additional 15,098 shares in the last quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $991,000. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 91.7% in the 4th quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 4,251 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,813,000 after purchasing an additional 2,034 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $490.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.06, for a total transaction of $6,230,132.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at $21,388,649.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.06, for a total transaction 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 $21,388,649.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total transaction of $7,632,649.78. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly 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 quarter, insiders sold 366,630 shares of company stock worth $168,746,490. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $462.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $471.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $436.10. The firm has a market cap of $431.39 billion, a PE ratio of 39.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.08. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $357.85 and a 12-month high of $490.00.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.