Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Has $30.57 Million Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 35.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 58,060 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 32,177 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $30,573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MA. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 483.3% during the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MA. DZ Bank raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Susquehanna upped their price target on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $633.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $607.96.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.4 %

Mastercard stock opened at $533.26 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.23. The stock has a market cap of $486.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $534.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $529.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. As a group, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.