Bison Wealth LLC Cuts Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Bison Wealth LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 77.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,316 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 4,429 shares during the quarter. Bison Wealth LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $693,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MA traded up $2.52 during trading on Monday, reaching $561.91. 812,742 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,603,427. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $532.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $531.61. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $512.30 billion, a PE ratio of 40.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.31 earnings per share. Mastercard's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard's payout ratio is presently 21.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. DZ Bank upgraded Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $620.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $633.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $606.18.

Mastercard Company 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.