Sapient Capital LLC Takes $41.44 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 97,162 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $41,441,000. Mastercard makes up 1.1% of Sapient Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eudaimonia Partners LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Eudaimonia Partners LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 16.5% in the third quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 3,574 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,415,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% during the third quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 403,592 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $159,786,000 after purchasing an additional 5,600 shares during the last quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co lifted its position in Mastercard by 3.3% during the third quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co now owns 2,323 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $920,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Walter Public Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 262.3% in the third quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. now owns 32,611 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $12,911,000 after purchasing an additional 23,611 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MA. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $535.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $524.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $493.55.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 116,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $445.04, for a total value of $51,624,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,651,308 shares in the company, valued at $43,013,698,112.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 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. Insiders have sold a total of 583,088 shares of company stock valued at $266,873,978 over the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA traded up $2.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $443.58. 3,711,610 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,507,301. The stock has a market cap of $413.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.26, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $469.57 and a 200-day moving average of $437.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.09. 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 results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. Mastercard had a return on equity of 183.70% and a net margin of 46.09%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

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.