Insider Selling: Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Major Shareholder Sells $52,732,980.00 in Stock

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 114,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.57, for a total value of $52,732,980.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 96,767,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,761,653,661.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• On Wednesday, April 24th, Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of Mastercard stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.78, for a total value of $50,443,020.00.
• 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 value 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 Trading Down 2.0 %

Mastercard stock opened at $442.30 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $412.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.39, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $357.85 and a one year high of $490.00. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $470.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $437.42.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. 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 company earned $2.65 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mastercard

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 16.7% in the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 9,787 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,875,000 after buying an additional 1,403 shares during the period. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.9% in the third quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 984 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Steward Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 10.5% in the third quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC now owns 643 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1,739.1% in the third quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. now owns 846 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, PDS Planning Inc lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.7% in the third quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 3,892 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,541,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on MA shares. 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 note on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.23.

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.