Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stock Position Raised by Private Portfolio Partners LLC

Private Portfolio Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,794 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Private Portfolio Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after buying an additional 138,842 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 82.0% during the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 1,294 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $639,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares during the period. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 5.0% during the third quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 655 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its stake in Mastercard by 54.4% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 71,802 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,456,000 after purchasing an additional 25,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 14,928 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,372,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MA. Macquarie boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price target (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.0 %

MA opened at $548.16 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $499.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $551.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $527.98. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued 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 net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.