FineMark National Bank & Trust Lowers Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

FineMark National Bank & Trust lessened its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 53,780 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,592 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 1.0% of FineMark National Bank & Trust’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. FineMark National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $28,319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Mastercard by 51.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,846,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965,782 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 79,739.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $818,962,000 after buying an additional 1,553,329 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 3.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after acquiring an additional 700,769 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,079,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,674,932,000 after acquiring an additional 581,697 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $543.82 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $548.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $525.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $582.23. The firm has a market cap of $495.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.15, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

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.