Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,659 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 408 shares during the quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,987,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth about $3,308,223,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 111,819.8% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,983,231 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,080,549,000 after purchasing an additional 5,977,885 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 43,445.1% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,936,684 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,252,525,000 after purchasing an additional 2,929,940 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,843,692 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,509,328,000 after purchasing an additional 2,385,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 145.7% in the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,960,242 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,164,263,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755,483 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MA traded down $5.77 during trading on Thursday, hitting $454.39. The stock had a trading volume of 1,996,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,406,496. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $357.85 and a 12 month high of $490.00. The company has a market capitalization of $423.90 billion, a PE ratio of 38.89, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $471.83 and its 200 day moving average is $433.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. The company 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 22.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total value of $7,632,649.78. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Mastercard news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total transaction of $43,072.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,740,407.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at $5,832,644.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,728 shares of company stock worth $19,479,753 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Two equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.23.

Mastercard 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.