Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Garrison Point Advisors LLC

Garrison Point Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 30 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 1.2% of Garrison Point Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Garrison Point Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after purchasing an additional 138,842 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 21.8% in the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,917 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,835,000 after buying an additional 3,562 shares during the last quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.0% during the third quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 698 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Goldstream Capital Management Ltd boosted its position in Mastercard by 45.2% during the third quarter. Goldstream Capital Management Ltd now owns 842 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hendershot Investments Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard by 1.9% during the third quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc. now owns 35,215 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,389,000 after acquiring an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MA. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 7.7 %

Shares of MA opened at $489.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $582.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $550.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $528.26. The company has a market capitalization of $446.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard 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.