Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning

Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning lessened its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA – Get Rating) by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,809 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Coston McIsaac & Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Schubert & Co lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 91.8% in the second quarter. Schubert & Co now owns 94 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Urban Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 419.2% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on MA shares. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $417.00 to $406.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $445.00 to $388.00 in a report on Monday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $441.00 to $437.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 28th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $415.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, October 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $365.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $406.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 177,211 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.89, for a total transaction of $56,688,026.79. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,566,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,809,852,774.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 6,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.05, for a total value of $2,406,856.65. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 41,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,701,385.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 177,211 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.89, for a total value of $56,688,026.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 102,566,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,809,852,774.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 367,819 shares of company stock valued at $117,733,271. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock opened at $377.26 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $362.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.96, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $354.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $335.42. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $276.87 and a fifty-two week high of $399.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 27th. The credit services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $5.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.66 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.22% and a return on equity of 148.94%. Sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 10.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 6th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.78%.

Mastercard Company Profile

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Mastercard, Inc operates as a technology company. The firm engages in the payments industry that connects consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and business. It offers payment solutions for the development and implementation of credit, debit, prepaid, commercial and payment programs.