Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Acquired by Private Advisor Group LLC

Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 36.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,310 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $19,701,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth 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. grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 661.5% during the third quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 142,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.14, for a total value of $62,783,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 96,377,308 shares in the company, valued at $42,612,262,959.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the company’s 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 142,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.14, for a total value of $62,783,880.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,377,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,612,262,959.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 725,088 shares of company stock worth $329,657,858 over the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.3 %

MA stock traded up $5.79 during trading on Monday, hitting $449.37. The company had a trading volume of 2,513,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,473,001. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $469.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $438.74. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $357.85 and a 12 month high of $490.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The stock has a market cap of $419.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.72, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 183.70% and a net margin of 46.09%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, February 1st. KeyCorp upped their target price on Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $496.27.

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.