Citizens Business Bank Sells 581 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Citizens Business Bank reduced its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,298 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 581 shares during the period. Citizens Business Bank’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,966,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth $207,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.6% during the third quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,773 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,494,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 20.2% in the third quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 4,241 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,679,000 after buying an additional 714 shares during the period. Suncoast Equity Management raised its holdings in Mastercard by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Suncoast Equity Management now owns 66,203 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,210,000 after buying an additional 1,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Private Wealth Management boosted its position in Mastercard by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Management now owns 3,374 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,336,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $490.23.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at $47,527,976,823. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $7,632,649.78. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at $5,832,644.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 480,630 shares of company stock worth $221,479,470. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock traded down $5.91 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $451.19. The company had a trading volume of 2,696,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,410,313. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $357.85 and a 12 month high of $490.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $471.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $437.01. The firm has a market cap of $420.91 billion, a PE ratio of 38.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.