Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Major Shareholder Foundation Mastercard Sells 111,000 Shares of 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 shares were sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total transaction of $50,743,650.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 97,432,308 shares in the company, valued at $44,541,179,602.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases 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 Trading Up 0.2 %

Mastercard stock opened at $455.39 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $357.85 and a one year high of $490.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $471.70 and its 200 day moving average is $433.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $424.83 billion, a PE ratio of 38.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.23.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,253,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,096,470,000 after purchasing an additional 742,076 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Mastercard by 3.9% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,759,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $12,632,032,000 after buying an additional 1,303,477 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,041,685 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,974,478,000 after buying an additional 676,452 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,843,692 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,509,328,000 after buying an additional 2,385,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,608,023 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,803,956,000 after acquiring an additional 605,909 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.