Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is Herold Advisors Inc.’s 5th Largest Position

Herold Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,199 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 205 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 2.0% of Herold Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Herold Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 490 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 11,248 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,797,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 881,746 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $376,073,000 after buying an additional 15,098 shares during the period. VCI Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $991,000. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 91.7% in the 4th quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 4,251 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,813,000 after buying an additional 2,034 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $462.42 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization 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’s 50-day moving average is $471.35 and its 200 day moving average is $436.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.32%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,432,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,541,179,602.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,432,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,541,179,602.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total transaction of $3,736,447.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 47,640 shares in the company, valued at $22,672,828.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 366,630 shares of company stock valued at $168,746,490. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.23.

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.