Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Major Shareholder Sells $50,443,020.00 in Stock

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.78, for a total transaction of $50,443,020.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 96,996,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,887,951,416.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

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

• On Monday, April 22nd, Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of Mastercard stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.46, for a total transaction of $49,863,140.00.
• On Thursday, April 18th, Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of Mastercard stock. The stock was 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 Stock Performance

MA stock traded down $0.95 during trading on Thursday, hitting $461.55. 990,913 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,402,629. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $357.85 and a 52 week high of $490.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $471.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $435.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $430.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. 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 currently 22.32%.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Aubrey Capital Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 51.1% during the 1st quarter. Aubrey Capital Management Ltd now owns 7,100 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,419,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares during the period. L.M. Kohn & Company increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 9,716 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,679,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 180,739 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $87,039,000 after purchasing an additional 5,103 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 22.3% during the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,695 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,261,000 after purchasing an additional 856 shares during the period. Finally, Eudaimonia Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Eudaimonia Partners LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Raymond James boosted their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.