Summit Financial LLC Boosts Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Summit Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,665 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,863,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 483.3% during the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn cut Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $540.57 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $582.23. The company has a market cap of $492.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.92, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $550.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $527.19.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.