Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp Sells 2,721 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp trimmed its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 137,437 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,721 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 4.0% of Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $58,618,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Bornite Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $21,442,000. United Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 34.5% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 6,007 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,147,000 after acquiring an additional 1,541 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 30.1% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 272,358 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $97,335,000 after acquiring an additional 63,040 shares in the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at about $1,168,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at about $12,926,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Monness Crespi & Hardt began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Two research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.23.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE MA traded down $5.46 during trading on Thursday, reaching $454.70. 1,995,985 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,406,496. The company 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $471.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $433.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $357.85 and a twelve month high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $6.55 billion for 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 prior year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 6,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,740,407.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total transaction of $43,072.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,740,407.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 41,728 shares of company stock valued at $19,479,753. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.