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 firm’s stock in a transaction 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• 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 stock was sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total transaction of $97,450.00.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:MA traded up $4.54 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $461.29. The stock had a trading volume of 648,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,381,892. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The company has a market capitalization of $430.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.63, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $471.66 and a 200 day moving average of $434.80. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $357.85 and a one year high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion during 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 business posted $2.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 22.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,253,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,096,470,000 after buying an additional 742,076 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,041,685 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,974,478,000 after acquiring an additional 676,452 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,608,023 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,803,956,000 after acquiring an additional 605,909 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $4,595,559,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Mastercard by 2.9% in 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 in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $535.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.