Wealth Alliance Sells 46 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Wealth Alliance trimmed its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,746 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 46 shares during the quarter. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 4,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $435.00, for a total transaction of $1,740,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,712,225. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $435.00, for a total value of $1,740,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,712,225. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.06, for a total value of $6,230,132.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at $21,388,649.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 41,728 shares of company stock valued at $19,479,753. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock traded up $1.95 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $461.74. 1,030,842 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,410,389. The stock has a market capitalization of $430.75 billion, a PE ratio of 38.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.08. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $357.85 and a 52 week high of $490.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $471.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $432.58.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 22.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MA. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $485.91.

About Mastercard

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.