Insider Selling: Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Major Shareholder Sells $49,863,140.00 in Stock

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.46, for a total transaction of $49,863,140.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 97,215,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,472,114,797.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 Wednesday, April 24th, Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of Mastercard stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.78, for a total transaction of $50,443,020.00.
• On Thursday, April 18th, Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of Mastercard stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total transaction of $50,743,650.00.
• 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 transaction of $97,450.00.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA opened at $462.04 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $471.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $435.63. The company has a market cap of $431.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.06, a P/E/G 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.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.32%.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. VitalStone Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $535.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.23.

Mastercard Company 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.