Elite Wealth Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Elite Wealth Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,011 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 445 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 0.4% of Elite Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Elite Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,308,223,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 111,819.8% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,983,231 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,080,549,000 after acquiring an additional 5,977,885 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 43,445.1% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,936,684 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,252,525,000 after acquiring an additional 2,929,940 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,843,692 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,509,328,000 after acquiring an additional 2,385,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 145.7% in the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,960,242 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,164,263,000 after acquiring an additional 1,755,483 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $485.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $435.00, for a total value of $1,740,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,235 shares in the company, valued at $2,712,225. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.06, for a total transaction of $6,230,132.52. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at $21,388,649.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $435.00, for a total value of $1,740,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,712,225. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,728 shares of company stock worth $19,479,753 over the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of MA traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $459.82. The company had a trading volume of 1,787,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,209,005. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $357.85 and a 1-year high of $490.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $471.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $433.03. The stock has a market cap of $428.96 billion, a PE ratio of 38.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.32%.

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.