Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 78.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,839 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 13,963 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MA. Cypress Wealth Services LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 864 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,996 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $851,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 598 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Cassia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.1% during the third quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,240 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $491,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 8.4% during the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 348 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total value of $43,072.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,740,407.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total transaction of $3,736,447.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total transaction of $43,072.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,235 shares in the company, valued at $2,740,407.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,628 shares of company stock worth $23,309,067 in the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MA traded down $3.08 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $469.08. 2,710,524 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,436,390. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $471.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $430.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $437.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.08. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $357.85 and a twelve month high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MA shares. Mizuho restated a "buy" rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $481.95.

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.

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