Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Decreases Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 10,125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 143 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 661.5% in the third quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 34.0% in the fourth quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 134 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.23.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock opened at $462.42 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $431.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $357.85 and a 1 year high of $490.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $471.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $436.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. The business 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 period last year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.32%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related 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 transaction of $97,450.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at $47,527,976,823. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total value of $3,736,447.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares in the company, valued at $22,672,828.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 366,630 shares of company stock worth $168,746,490. Corporate 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.