Carret Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Carret Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,505 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 235 shares during the quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,334,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bfsg LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 11,297 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,818,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Mastercard by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 210 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 189.6% in the fourth quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 2,082 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $888,000 after buying an additional 1,363 shares in the last quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 5,441 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,321,000 after buying an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $2,250,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MA. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $490.23.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA traded down $0.32 on Wednesday, hitting $462.50. 3,982,723 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,420,361. The company has a 50 day moving average of $471.71 and a 200-day moving average of $435.26. 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 $431.46 billion, a PE ratio of 39.11, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.08. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $357.85 and a 12-month high of $490.00.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total transaction of $7,632,649.78. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total value of $50,743,650.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 97,432,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,541,179,602.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 257,630 shares of company stock worth $118,303,470 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.