Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Brave Asset Management Inc.

Brave Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,742 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 44 shares during the quarter. Brave Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $743,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth $25,000. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth $27,000. Bollard Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth $29,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter worth $38,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Mastercard from $425.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Mastercard from $476.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $479.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total value of $43,072.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,740,407.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total value of $43,072.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,235 shares in the company, valued at $2,740,407.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 50,628 shares of company stock valued at $23,309,067. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock traded up $3.62 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $481.57. 2,207,475 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,443,068. The company has a market capitalization of $449.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $464.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $426.46. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $355.82 and a 1 year high of $490.00. 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 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 22.32%.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $11.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.