Norway Savings Bank Trims Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Norway Savings Bank lessened its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,196 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 105 shares during the quarter. Norway Savings Bank’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $576,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its position in Mastercard by 81.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 1,171 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 29.5% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 6,396 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,458 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.4% during the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 146,650 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $58,060,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 14.1% during the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 5,478 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,169,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. Finally, Teza Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,234,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MA. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $535.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Mastercard from $549.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $496.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 110,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $441.43, for a total value of $48,557,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 94,014,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,500,735,980.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.00, for a total transaction of $136,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,572,202. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 110,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $441.43, for a total transaction of $48,557,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 94,014,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,500,735,980.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,163,228 shares of company stock valued at $1,428,540,870. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of MA opened at $441.08 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $359.77 and a fifty-two week high of $490.00. The company has a market capitalization of $410.03 billion, a PE ratio of 35.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $451.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $452.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 183.70% and a net margin of 46.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.26 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.99%.

Mastercard Company 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.