Evercore Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,916 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Evercore Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 436,895 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,916 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 3.4% of Evercore Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Evercore Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $230,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,022,224,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 79,739.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $818,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553,329 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $617,303,000. Finally, Demars Financial Group LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 50,438.6% during the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 981,460 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $516,807,000 after buying an additional 979,518 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $635.00 price target (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $607.96.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA traded down $2.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $533.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,006,113 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,627,850. The firm has a market capitalization of $486.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.23. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $534.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $530.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is 21.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.