Brighton Jones LLC Acquires 346 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,626 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $451.19 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $420.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $357.85 and a twelve month 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $471.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $437.38.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its 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 the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.06, for a total transaction of $6,230,132.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at $21,388,649.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares in the company, valued at $22,672,828.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 46,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,388,649.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 480,630 shares of company stock worth $221,479,470 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.23.

About Mastercard

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.