Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA Sells 1,781 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA lessened its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 28.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,459 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,781 shares during the quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of MA opened at $540.57 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $550.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $526.65. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $492.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.92, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MA shares. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.