Golden State Equity Partners Increases Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Golden State Equity Partners increased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,702 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,075,358 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,593,025,000 after buying an additional 251,516 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 6.9% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,966,348 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,153,957,000 after purchasing an additional 515,481 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 5.9% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,510,259 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,181,964,000 after purchasing an additional 306,663 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Mastercard by 1.1% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,314,881 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,104,214,000 after purchasing an additional 56,642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 0.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,557,530 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,804,372,000 after purchasing an additional 16,019 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $462.42 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $471.35 and a 200 day moving average of $436.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The stock has a market cap of $431.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $357.85 and a twelve month high of $490.00.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total value of $50,743,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 97,432,308 shares in the company, valued at $44,541,179,602.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total value of $50,743,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 97,432,308 shares in the company, valued at $44,541,179,602.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total value of $3,736,447.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 47,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,672,828.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 366,630 shares of company stock worth $168,746,490 over the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on MA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.23.

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.