Twin Capital Management Inc. Sells 2,159 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Twin Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 28.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,445 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,159 shares during the quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,322,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 59,957 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $25,572,000 after purchasing an additional 983 shares during the last quarter. Tufton Capital Management lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 604 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 7,644 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,260,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,032 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,293,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 17,316 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,593,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total transaction of $7,632,649.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total value of $43,072.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,740,407.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total value of $7,632,649.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at $5,832,644.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 37,728 shares of company stock worth $17,739,753. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of several recent research reports. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.23.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $454.39 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The stock has a market cap of $423.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $471.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $433.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $357.85 and a twelve month high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 22.32%.

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.