Vicus Capital Reduces Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Vicus Capital trimmed its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 43.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,276 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 968 shares during the period. Vicus Capital’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $544,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MA. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 661.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total transaction of $43,072.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,740,407.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total transaction of $43,072.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,740,407.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total value of $50,743,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 97,432,308 shares in the company, valued at $44,541,179,602.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 148,728 shares of company stock worth $68,483,403. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on MA. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.23.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MA traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $455.39. 2,548,844 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,169,012. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $471.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $434.07. The company has a market cap of $424.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.49, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $357.85 and a 52 week high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

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.