Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Sells 32,177 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC trimmed its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 35.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,060 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 32,177 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $30,573,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,179,138 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,640,219,000 after purchasing an additional 377,302 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,725,627,000 after acquiring an additional 912,856 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,657,792 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,800,202,000 after purchasing an additional 282,739 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $6,022,224,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,760,740 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,139,713,000 after buying an additional 817,836 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $607.96.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $533.26 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $534.04 and its 200-day moving average is $529.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $486.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.39, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 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.