Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Position Increased by Advocate Group LLC

Advocate Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 16.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,721 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 925 shares during the period. Advocate Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Bollard Group LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 8,900 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $430.26, for a total transaction of $3,829,314.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at $20,003,217.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 8,900 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $430.26, for a total transaction of $3,829,314.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at $20,003,217.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total transaction of $97,450.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,628 shares of company stock valued at $23,309,067. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA traded up $3.62 during trading on Friday, reaching $481.57. The stock had a trading volume of 2,214,542 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,325,334. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $355.82 and a 52 week high of $490.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $449.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $465.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $426.84.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $11.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $479.62.

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.