Garde Capital Inc. Sells 167 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Garde Capital Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 39.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 261 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 167 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $125,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,584,606 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $36,399,279,000 after purchasing an additional 330,872 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,041,685 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,974,478,000 after acquiring an additional 676,452 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.3% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,651,904 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,574,347,000 after acquiring an additional 43,881 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $4,595,559,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,665,483 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,989,875,000 after buying an additional 107,953 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Mastercard from $536.00 to $524.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Argus raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. BNP Paribas upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $507.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 122,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.20, for a total value of $56,144,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 94,971,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,705,795,941.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 122,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.20, for a total value of $56,144,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 94,971,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,705,795,941.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,028 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.28, for a total value of $4,038,043.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,940 shares in the company, valued at $26,362,683.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,462,228 shares of company stock valued at $1,110,349,560. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Mastercard stock traded down $0.39 on Friday, reaching $462.02. 3,808,080 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,706,904. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $359.77 and a one year high of $490.00. The company has a market capitalization of $429.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.73, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The company has a 50-day moving average of $446.48 and a 200 day moving average of $456.63.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

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.