Kennedy Capital Management LLC Sells 605 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC cut its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,132 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 605 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,441,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,179,138 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $40,640,219,000 after purchasing an additional 377,302 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $11,725,627,000 after purchasing an additional 912,856 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,657,792 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $9,800,202,000 after acquiring an additional 282,739 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,022,224,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Mastercard by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,760,740 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,139,713,000 after acquiring an additional 817,836 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MA shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $640.00 price target (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie upped their price target on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating 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 note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Mastercard from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $607.96.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.4 %

Mastercard stock traded up $7.35 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $520.78. The stock had a trading volume of 1,441,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,611,152. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $539.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $528.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $474.80 billion, a PE ratio of 37.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard 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.