LM Advisors LLC Sells 1,797 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

LM Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 37.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,797 shares during the period. LM Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,608,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price target (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 target price (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.7 %

MA opened at $549.13 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $549.58 and its 200-day moving average is $526.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $500.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

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.