Everett Harris & Co. CA Raises Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Everett Harris & Co. CA grew its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 49,539 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Everett Harris & Co. CA’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $21,129,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on MA. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Mastercard from $425.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $476.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $479.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was 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 owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at $5,832,644.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total transaction of $43,072.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,740,407.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was 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 $5,832,644.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,628 shares of company stock worth $23,309,067 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA traded up $1.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $477.95. 2,249,400 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,446,885. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $352.80 and a 52-week high of $490.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The company has a market cap of $445.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $463.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $426.09.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued 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 is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.32%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $11.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.