Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Calamos Advisors LLC

Calamos Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 281,852 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,832 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 0.6% of Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $120,213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,759,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $12,632,032,000 after buying an additional 1,303,477 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,843,692 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,509,328,000 after buying an additional 2,385,640 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $3,308,223,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,075,358 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,593,025,000 after buying an additional 251,516 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 8,420,213 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,311,670,000 after buying an additional 318,077 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MA. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $490.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $435.00, for a total transaction of $1,740,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,235 shares in the company, valued at $2,712,225. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was 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 owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at $47,527,976,823. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $435.00, for a total value of $1,740,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,712,225. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,728 shares of company stock worth $19,479,753 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.2 %

Mastercard stock traded down $5.46 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $454.70. The stock had a trading volume of 1,995,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,406,486. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $357.85 and a twelve month high of $490.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $424.19 billion, a PE ratio of 38.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 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. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $471.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $433.21.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its 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 analyst estimates of $6.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 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.