National Bank of Canada FI Sells 148,885 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

National Bank of Canada FI decreased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 20.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 589,866 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 148,885 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $310,603,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after buying an additional 138,842 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the third quarter worth approximately $54,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $893,000. Paloma Partners Management Co boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 82.0% in the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 1,294 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $639,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 1,664.2% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 100,736 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $49,761,000 after purchasing an additional 95,026 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price objective (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.5 %

Mastercard stock opened at $548.66 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $551.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $527.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $500.22 billion, a PE ratio of 39.50, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.