Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stock Holdings Lifted by Kovack Advisors Inc.

Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 14.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,968 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 254 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $840,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard by 661.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 134 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total transaction of $3,736,447.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 47,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,672,828.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total value of $3,736,447.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 47,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,672,828.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.78, for a total transaction of $50,443,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,996,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,887,951,416.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 366,630 shares of company stock valued at $168,746,490. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1 %

MA stock opened at $462.42 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $471.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $436.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $431.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $357.85 and a 52-week high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion during 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 in the prior year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MA. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.