Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Sells 421 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 59.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 289 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 421 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cypress Wealth Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 864 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.1% in the third quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,240 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $491,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 8.4% in the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 348 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% in the third quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors now owns 5,311 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,103,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tufton Capital Management increased its holdings in Mastercard by 5.1% during the third quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 578 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of MA stock traded up $2.77 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $480.72. The stock had a trading volume of 920,858 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,421,281. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $463.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $426.09. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $355.82 and a 52-week high of $490.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $448.46 billion, a PE ratio of 40.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $11.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.32%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total value of $43,072.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,740,407.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total transaction of $7,632,649.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,832,644.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 6,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,740,407.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,628 shares of company stock valued at $23,309,067 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $425.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $479.62.

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.