Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Major Shareholder Sells $50,743,650.00 in Stock

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total transaction of $50,743,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 97,432,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,541,179,602.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

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

• On Thursday, March 21st, Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total transaction of $97,450.00.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $455.14. The stock had a trading volume of 908,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,386,509. The firm has a market capitalization of $424.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.08. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $357.85 and a 52 week high of $490.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $471.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $433.36. 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 issued 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 return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 22.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.23.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MA. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $788,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 484 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Benin Management CORP increased its position in Mastercard by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Benin Management CORP now owns 794 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Atticus Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $835,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Cypress Wealth Services LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 864 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.