Columbia Asset Management Sells 349 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Columbia Asset Management trimmed its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 45.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 417 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 349 shares during the period. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Addison Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 493 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,651,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. now owns 475 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Augustine Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $946,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $548.16 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $551.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $527.98. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $582.23. The company has a market capitalization of $499.76 billion, a PE ratio of 39.46, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 21.89%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 target price (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp upped their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard 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.