Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lessened its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 228,621 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 2,658 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 1.2% of B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Mastercard were worth $120,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 493 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,651,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. now owns 475 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $946,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MA. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup increased their target price on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $606.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock traded down $17.23 during trading on Thursday, hitting $530.15. 3,419,238 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,552,953. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $551.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $528.12. The company has a market cap of $483.35 billion, a PE ratio of 38.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share 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 analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.