Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 188,460 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,259,707 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 188,460 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 0.6% of Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.36% of Mastercard worth $1,716,464,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. DZ Bank raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of MA opened at $540.57 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $582.23. The company has a market capitalization of $492.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $550.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $527.19.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

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.