Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stock Position Lowered by Gould Asset Management LLC CA

Gould Asset Management LLC CA lessened its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,760 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Gould Asset Management LLC CA’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $751,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 661.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 134 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total transaction of $50,743,650.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,432,308 shares in the company, valued at $44,541,179,602.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,832,644.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total transaction of $50,743,650.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 97,432,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,541,179,602.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 366,630 shares of company stock worth $168,746,490. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA traded down $0.46 on Thursday, reaching $462.04. The stock had a trading volume of 2,006,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,415,934. The company has a market capitalization of $431.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $357.85 and a 1-year high of $490.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $471.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $435.63.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $6.55 billion for 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. 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 payout ratio is 22.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on MA shares. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.23.

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.