Forza Wealth Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Forza Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,745 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 35 shares during the period. Forza Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $840,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. VitalStone Financial LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.23.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE MA traded down $5.39 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $457.03. 2,120,953 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,406,817. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $471.13 and a 200 day moving average of $437.01. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $357.85 and a 1 year high of $490.00. The stock has a market cap of $426.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total value of $3,736,447.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,672,828.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,672,828.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 114,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 96,767,308 shares in the company, valued at $44,761,653,661.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 480,630 shares of company stock valued at $221,479,470. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.