Lakeside Advisors INC. Trims Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Lakeside Advisors INC. trimmed its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 810 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Lakeside Advisors INC.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $3,049,000. Allen Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $217,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 368,253 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $157,064,000 after acquiring an additional 5,714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Paces Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 425 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt started coverage on Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $485.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total transaction of $97,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,527,976,823. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total transaction of $97,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,527,976,823. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $435.00, for a total value of $1,740,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,712,225. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,728 shares of company stock worth $19,479,753. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA traded up $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $459.82. 1,787,264 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,209,005. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $357.85 and a 52-week high of $490.00. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $471.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $433.03. The company has a market cap of $428.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.84, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. The firm had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

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.