Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC

Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,512 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 29 shares during the quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,497,160,000 after acquiring an additional 138,842 shares during the period. Passumpsic Savings Bank lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% in the third quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 4,990 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,464,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Resource Group boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 2,276 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 18.5% during the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,533,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,035 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,493,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $513.71 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $539.77 and its 200-day moving average is $528.48. The stock has a market cap of $468.35 billion, a PE ratio of 36.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued 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 0.59%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. DZ Bank upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $607.96.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the business’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 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 approximately $46,692,629.36. The trade was 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.

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.