Investidor Profissional Gestao de Recursos Ltda. Cuts Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Investidor Profissional Gestao de Recursos Ltda. trimmed its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 40.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,999 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 8,700 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 4.0% of Investidor Profissional Gestao de Recursos Ltda.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Investidor Profissional Gestao de Recursos Ltda.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price target (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Down 7.7 %

MA stock opened at $489.94 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $550.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $528.08. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $582.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $446.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

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.