First Interstate Bank Cuts Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

First Interstate Bank lowered its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,949 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 207 shares during the period. First Interstate Bank’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, February 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $485.91.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total value of $43,072.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,740,407.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total value of $43,072.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,740,407.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were 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 $5,832,644.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,728 shares of company stock valued at $19,479,753 over the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE MA traded down $0.29 on Tuesday, hitting $459.50. The stock had a trading volume of 1,787,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,421,027. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $471.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $432.58. 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. The stock has a market cap of $428.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.