Foundation Mastercard Sells 111,000 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stock

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total value 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Foundation Mastercard also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, March 21st, Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $455.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $357.85 and a 1-year high of $490.00. The company has a market cap of $424.83 billion, a PE ratio of 38.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $471.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $433.78.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued 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 yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 22.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $4,595,559,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 111,819.8% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,983,231 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,080,549,000 after purchasing an additional 5,977,885 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 43,445.1% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,936,684 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,252,525,000 after purchasing an additional 2,929,940 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,843,692 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,509,328,000 after purchasing an additional 2,385,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 145.7% in the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,960,242 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,164,263,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755,483 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on MA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James raised their price objective on Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned 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.

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.