Alpha Cubed Investments LLC Sells 51 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Alpha Cubed Investments LLC reduced its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,614 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 51 shares during the quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,075,358 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,593,025,000 after acquiring an additional 251,516 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 6.9% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,966,348 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,153,957,000 after buying an additional 515,481 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,510,259 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,181,964,000 after acquiring an additional 306,663 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,314,881 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,104,214,000 after acquiring an additional 56,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,557,530 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,804,372,000 after acquiring an additional 16,019 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of MA traded down $5.91 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $451.19. 2,696,679 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,410,313. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $357.85 and a 52 week high of $490.00. The company has a market cap of $420.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.37, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $471.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $437.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued 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 business had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.32%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total transaction of $97,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total transaction of $97,450.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.06, for a total transaction of $6,230,132.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 46,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,388,649.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 480,630 shares of company stock worth $221,479,470. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. 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, the stock 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.