F M Investments LLC Decreases Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

F M Investments LLC lessened its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 778 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 65 shares during the quarter. F M Investments LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 661.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 134 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock traded up $5.87 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $462.62. 2,027,850 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,400,298. The company has a market cap of $431.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.11, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.08. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $357.85 and a 52-week high of $490.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $471.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $435.26. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 22.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MA. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective 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. Two 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $490.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total transaction of $50,743,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 97,432,308 shares in the company, valued at $44,541,179,602.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,832,644.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total transaction of $50,743,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,432,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,541,179,602.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 257,630 shares of company stock worth $118,303,470. 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.