Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd trimmed its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,790 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 274 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 210 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 189.6% during the 4th quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 2,082 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,363 shares in the last quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 5,441 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,321,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $2,250,000. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,034 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,574,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA traded up $5.87 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $462.62. 2,027,850 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,400,298. The firm has a market capitalization of $431.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $357.85 and a one year high of $490.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $471.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $435.26.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were 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 owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at $47,527,976,823. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were 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 owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at $47,527,976,823. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total transaction of $7,632,649.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 257,630 shares of company stock worth $118,303,470. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.23.

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.