Forte Capital LLC ADV Sells 1,802 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Forte Capital LLC ADV cut its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 50,107 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,802 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 2.9% of Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $21,371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 5,575 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,378,000 after purchasing an additional 727 shares in the last quarter. First National Trust Co boosted its stake in Mastercard by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 3,653 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,558,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. AJOVista LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $145,000. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 27,526 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,740,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Finally, Provence Wealth Management Group lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group now owns 2,096 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $894,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $524.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Mastercard from $520.00 to $510.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $493.55.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock traded up $2.48 on Friday, hitting $443.58. The stock had a trading volume of 3,711,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,507,301. The stock has a market cap of $413.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50 day moving average is $469.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $437.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $357.85 and a twelve month high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 183.70% and a net margin of 46.09%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.22 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 116,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $445.04, for a total transaction of $51,624,640.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 96,651,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,013,698,112.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Mastercard 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 transaction of $7,632,649.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at $5,832,644.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 116,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $445.04, for a total value of $51,624,640.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 96,651,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,013,698,112.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 583,088 shares of company stock worth $266,873,978 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.