Insider Selling: Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Major Shareholder Sells $50,443,020.00 in Stock

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.78, for a total transaction of $50,443,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 96,996,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,887,951,416.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Foundation Mastercard also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, April 22nd, Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of Mastercard stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.46, for a total transaction of $49,863,140.00.
• On Thursday, April 18th, Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of Mastercard stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total transaction of $50,743,650.00.
• 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 Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $462.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $431.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $471.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $436.35. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $357.85 and a 52 week high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 2.4% during the first quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 5,571 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,683,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 2.9% during the first quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 43,994 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares during the period. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc boosted its position in Mastercard by 0.7% during the first quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc now owns 6,372 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,069,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 6.6% during the first quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 1,863 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $897,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Harrington Investments INC boosted its position in Mastercard by 121.8% during the first quarter. Harrington Investments INC now owns 2,620 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,262,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.23.

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.