Johnson Financial Group Inc. Has $1.50 Million Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Johnson Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,692 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 312 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,497,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying 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 own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was 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 $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Macquarie lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $607.96.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE MA opened at $533.26 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $534.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $530.10. The company has a market cap of $486.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

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.