Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 156 shares during the quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 661.5% in the third 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 position in Mastercard by 34.0% in the fourth 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MA. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $535.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $493.55.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA traded up $2.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $443.58. 3,711,610 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,507,301. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $357.85 and a fifty-two week high of $490.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $413.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50 day moving average is $469.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $437.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.09% and a return on equity of 183.70%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.22 earnings per share for the current 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 (DPR) is 20.99%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total transaction of $7,632,649.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,832,644.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total transaction of $97,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,527,976,823. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total transaction of $7,632,649.78. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,832,644.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 583,088 shares of company stock worth $266,873,978. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.