Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC Lowers Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC trimmed its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 612 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 45 shares during the quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth $36,000. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 661.5% during the third 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. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 134 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA traded up $0.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $462.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,963,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,212,406. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $471.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $436.10. The company has a market capitalization of $431.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion for 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 company earned $2.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on MA. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total transaction of $3,736,447.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total transaction of $3,736,447.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.06, for a total value of $6,230,132.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 46,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,388,649.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 366,630 shares of company stock worth $168,746,490 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.