Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Acquired by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 102,593 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,857 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 0.8% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $54,041,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $6,022,224,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 79,739.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $818,962,000 after buying an additional 1,553,329 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Mastercard by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,817,684,000 after buying an additional 1,207,787 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $617,303,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on MA. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.18.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $559.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $509.81 billion, a PE ratio of 40.26, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $532.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $531.49. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.31 EPS. Mastercard’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.