Foundation Mastercard Sells 116,000 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stock

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 116,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $445.04, for a total transaction of $51,624,640.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 96,651,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,013,698,112.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company's stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Foundation Mastercard also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, April 26th, Foundation Mastercard sold 114,000 shares of Mastercard stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.57, for a total transaction of $52,732,980.00.
• On Wednesday, April 24th, Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of Mastercard stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.78, for a total transaction of $50,443,020.00.
• On Monday, April 22nd, Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of Mastercard stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.46, for a total transaction of $49,863,140.00.
• On Thursday, April 18th, Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of Mastercard stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total transaction of $50,743,650.00.
• On Thursday, March 21st, Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total transaction of $97,450.00.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA traded down $0.97 on Thursday, hitting $441.10. The stock had a trading volume of 3,865,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,457,691. 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 quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $411.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $470.17 and a 200-day moving average of $437.44.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.32%.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MA. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. VitalStone Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $520.00 to $510.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $493.55.

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.