Washington Trust Bank Sells 1,015 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Washington Trust Bank reduced its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 38,316 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,015 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 1.9% of Washington Trust Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $20,176,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MA. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $925,662,000 after acquiring an additional 241,297 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after acquiring an additional 138,842 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 11,152 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,507,000 after acquiring an additional 1,464 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $272,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 86,952 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $42,937,000 after acquiring an additional 6,291 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have 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 an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $535.14 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $547.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $524.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $582.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $487.89 billion, a PE ratio of 38.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is 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.