Alpha Cubed Investments LLC Sells 51 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lowered its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,614 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 51 shares during the period. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 87.4% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 536 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Cross Staff Investments Inc lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 3,148 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,343,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the period. Everett Harris & Co. CA boosted its position in Mastercard by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 49,539 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $21,129,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its position in Mastercard by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 12,124 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,171,000 after purchasing an additional 2,337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 490 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA traded down $5.91 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $451.19. 2,696,679 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,410,313. The stock has a market cap of $420.91 billion, a PE ratio of 38.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s fifty day moving average is $471.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $437.01. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $357.85 and a one year high of $490.00. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 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 the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $535.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $490.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 114,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.57, for a total value of $52,732,980.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 96,767,308 shares in the company, valued at $44,761,653,661.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other 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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 114,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.57, for a total value of $52,732,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 96,767,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,761,653,661.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 480,630 shares of company stock valued at $221,479,470 in the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.