VeraBank N.A. Trims Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

VeraBank N.A. trimmed its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,876 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. VeraBank N.A.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cypress Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 864 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,996 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $851,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Mastercard by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 1,037 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO increased its stake in Mastercard by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 598 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tufton Capital Management grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 604 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total value of $3,736,447.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares in the company, valued at $22,672,828.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 583,088 shares of company stock worth $266,873,978. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Raymond James upped their price objective on Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $493.55.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE MA traded up $2.48 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $443.58. 3,711,610 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,507,301. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $413.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50 day moving average is $469.57 and its 200-day moving average is $437.74. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $357.85 and a 12-month high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.09% and a return on equity of 183.70%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. Mastercard’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

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.