Notis McConarty Edward Has $9.84 Million Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Notis McConarty Edward lowered its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,688 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,131 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 4.8% of Notis McConarty Edward’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Notis McConarty Edward’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $9,841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC raised 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 valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 price target (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their target price on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 target price (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $489.94 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a market cap of $446.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $550.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $528.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

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.