97,162 Shares in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Bought by Sapient Capital LLC

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 97,162 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $41,441,000. Mastercard makes up about 1.1% of Sapient Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,377 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,985,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 562.1% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 89,705 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $38,261,000 after purchasing an additional 76,156 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments grew its position in Mastercard by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 5,466 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,331,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,427 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $609,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Westover Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 37.4% in the fourth quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,242 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $530,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen began coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $493.55.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total transaction of $97,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total transaction of $3,736,447.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 583,088 shares of company stock worth $266,873,978. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock traded up $2.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $443.58. 3,711,610 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,507,301. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $413.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.26, a PEG ratio of 1.72 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $469.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $437.74.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.09% and a return on equity of 183.70%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

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.