Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Dempze Nancy E

Dempze Nancy E lowered its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 11,061 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 34 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 3.4% of Dempze Nancy E’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Dempze Nancy E’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,824,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. KCM Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,846 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,025,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $135,688,000. ROI Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. ROI Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,700 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,634,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Mastercard by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,453,245 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,291,805,000 after buying an additional 48,516 shares during the period. Finally, First Western Trust Bank lifted its position in Mastercard by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. First Western Trust Bank now owns 2,186 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,151,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Macquarie raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Down 7.7 %

NYSE MA opened at $489.94 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.23. The stock has a market cap of $446.68 billion, a PE ratio of 35.27, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $550.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $528.08. 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 (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly 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. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

About Mastercard

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.