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

Abbrea Capital LLC grew its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,946 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Abbrea Capital LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 18.6% during the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,343,000 after buying an additional 531 shares during the period. Founders Financial Securities LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 2.9% during the third quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 2,919 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,156,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 0.4% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 8,629 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,435,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. KFG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $410,000. Finally, Nikulski Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 10.9% in the third quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. now owns 3,871 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock traded up $0.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $462.42. 1,961,540 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,410,326. 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 Incorporated has a 52 week low of $357.85 and a 52 week high of $490.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $471.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $435.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $431.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 22.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total value of $50,743,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 97,432,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,541,179,602.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total value of $50,743,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 97,432,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,541,179,602.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were 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 $22,672,828.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 366,630 shares of company stock valued at $168,746,490 over the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Two equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.23.

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.