Twin Capital Management Inc. Sells 2,159 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Twin Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 28.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,445 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,159 shares during the quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 3.9% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,759,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $12,632,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303,477 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,843,692 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,509,328,000 after acquiring an additional 2,385,640 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,308,223,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,075,358 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,593,025,000 after acquiring an additional 251,516 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 3.9% during the second quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 8,420,213 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,311,670,000 after acquiring an additional 318,077 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of MA opened at $454.39 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $357.85 and a 52 week high of $490.00. The firm has a market cap of $423.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $471.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $433.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced 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. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 22.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on MA. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. KeyCorp increased 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. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total transaction of $43,072.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,740,407.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total transaction of $43,072.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,740,407.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total transaction of $7,632,649.78. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 37,728 shares of company stock worth $17,739,753 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.