Summit Financial LLC Grows Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Summit Financial LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,668 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 207 shares during the quarter. Summit Financial LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Mastercard by 2.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,075,358 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,593,025,000 after acquiring an additional 251,516 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 6.9% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,966,348 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,153,957,000 after acquiring an additional 515,481 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 5.9% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,510,259 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,181,964,000 after acquiring an additional 306,663 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Mastercard by 1.1% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,314,881 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,104,214,000 after acquiring an additional 56,642 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total value of $7,632,649.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at $5,832,644.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total value of $7,632,649.78. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at $47,527,976,823. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 467,088 shares of company stock worth $215,249,338 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Mastercard stock traded down $3.22 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $438.85. 535,393 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,417,333. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $357.85 and a 52-week high of $490.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $409.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $470.78 and a 200-day moving average of $437.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on MA shares. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price objective on the stock. 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 report on Monday, April 15th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Raymond James lifted their target price on Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.14.

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.