Bailard Inc. Acquires 327 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Bailard Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,901 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,664,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its stake in Mastercard by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 6,411 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,538,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $236,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 890 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 773 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Fin Capital Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Fin Capital Inc. now owns 25,486 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,090,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MA. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.06, for a total value of $6,230,132.52. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,388,649.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total value of $7,632,649.78. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at $5,832,644.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.06, for a total transaction of $6,230,132.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at $21,388,649.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 366,630 shares of company stock valued at $168,746,490 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA traded up $0.05 on Friday, hitting $462.16. 423,563 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,390,444. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $471.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $435.63. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $357.85 and a twelve month high of $490.00. The firm has a market cap of $431.14 billion, a PE ratio of 39.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 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 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 business earned $2.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.32%.

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.