IHT Wealth Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

IHT Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,455 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,496 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA opened at $517.46 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $582.23. The company has a market capitalization of $471.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.25, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $537.86 and a 200 day moving average of $529.26.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays increased their target price on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie increased their price target on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $607.96.

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.