Family Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Family Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 992 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 71 shares during the quarter. Family Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 661.5% in the third quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $490.23.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total value of $7,632,649.78. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at $5,832,644.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total transaction of $43,072.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,740,407.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total transaction of $7,632,649.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at $5,832,644.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,728 shares of company stock valued at $19,479,753 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock traded down $5.46 on Thursday, hitting $454.70. 1,995,561 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,406,490. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $357.85 and a 1-year high of $490.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $424.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $471.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $433.21.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 22.32%.

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.