Nebula Research & Development LLC Sells 1,609 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Nebula Research & Development LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 44.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,978 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,609 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MA. Rothschild Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $506,000. Topsail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $203,000. Keyvantage Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $413,000. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 907 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $478,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,255,042 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $660,867,000 after acquiring an additional 169,019 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lifted 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. Finally, Macquarie increased their price target on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $607.96.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. This trade represents 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $533.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $486.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $534.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $530.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $582.23.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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 $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard's payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard Company 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.

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