Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Sells 274 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd trimmed its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,790 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 274 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 661.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 134 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on MA shares. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Two 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.23.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of MA stock traded up $5.87 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $462.62. 2,027,850 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,400,298. The stock has a market cap of $431.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $471.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $435.26. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $357.85 and a 52-week high of $490.00. 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 (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. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. The firm had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.06, for a total transaction of $6,230,132.52. Following the sale, the insider now owns 46,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,388,649.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.06, for a total transaction of $6,230,132.52. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,388,649.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total value of $3,736,447.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 47,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 257,630 shares of company stock worth $118,303,470. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.