Pitti Group Wealth Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Pitti Group Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 32.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 497 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 234 shares during the quarter. Pitti Group Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 661.5% during the third quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 134 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,832,644.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at $47,527,976,823. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 366,630 shares of company stock worth $168,746,490. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.23.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:MA traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $462.42. 1,963,273 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,212,406. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $471.35 and its 200-day moving average is $436.35. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $357.85 and a 12-month high of $490.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $431.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. The business 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 earned $2.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.