Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Purchased by Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd.

Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 95,698 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 659 shares during the quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $40,816,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bornite Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $21,442,000. United Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 34.5% during the first quarter. United Bank now owns 6,007 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in Mastercard by 30.1% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 272,358 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $97,335,000 after purchasing an additional 63,040 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank purchased a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at about $1,168,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP purchased a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at about $12,926,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on MA. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt started coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $485.91.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $460.24. 897,643 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,400,302. The stock has a market capitalization of $429.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $471.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $433.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $357.85 and a 1 year high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm 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 is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.32%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 4,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $435.00, for a total transaction of $1,740,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,712,225. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $435.00, for a total transaction of $1,740,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,235 shares in the company, valued at $2,712,225. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 shares were 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 approximately $5,832,644.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,728 shares of company stock worth $19,479,753. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Company 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.