Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Acquired by Mather Group LLC.

Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,417 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 806 shares during the quarter. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,869,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 661.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 134 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.23.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 114,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.57, for a total transaction of $52,732,980.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 96,767,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,761,653,661.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 114,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.57, for a total transaction of $52,732,980.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,767,308 shares in the company, valued at $44,761,653,661.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 46,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,388,649.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 480,630 shares of company stock worth $221,479,470 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $457.03 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $426.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.63, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $357.85 and a 12-month high of $490.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $471.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $437.01. 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 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.32%.

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.