DF Dent & Co. Inc. Sells 5,724 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

DF Dent & Co. Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 405,786 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 5,724 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 2.7% of DF Dent & Co. Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. DF Dent & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $213,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Mastercard stock traded up $8.10 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $493.62. The stock had a trading volume of 1,172,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,577,109. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $549.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $528.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company has a market capitalization of $450.04 billion, a PE ratio of 35.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. DZ Bank upgraded Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $620.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $640.00 price objective (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $633.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. KeyCorp upped their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $607.07.

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.