Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Insider Sells $1,652,520.00 in Stock

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) insider Ajay Bhalla sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $413.13, for a total value of $1,652,520.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,575,865.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Ajay Bhalla also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, September 18th, Ajay Bhalla sold 4,000 shares of Mastercard stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $413.88, for a total transaction of $1,655,520.00.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.7 %

Mastercard stock traded up $2.82 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $417.13. 1,797,408 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,683,491. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57. The firm has a market cap of $393.02 billion, a PE ratio of 39.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $401.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $381.97. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $276.87 and a 12-month high of $418.60.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The credit services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.18 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 43.37% and a return on equity of 178.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.56 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 12.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 7th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 6th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.37%.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MA. Cape ANN Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth about $303,000. IMS Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 11.6% in the second quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 2,257 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $888,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 147.2% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,099 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $826,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% during the second quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,096 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DCM Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at about $381,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MA. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Mastercard from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $440.00 to $443.00 in a research report on Friday, July 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Mastercard from $463.00 to $488.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Mastercard from $442.00 to $452.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 13th. Finally, 888 reiterated a “reiterates” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $442.83.

Mastercard Company Profile

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. It facilitates the processing of payment transactions, including authorization, clearing, and settlement, as well as delivers other payment-related products and services.