Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC Raises Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 168 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 1.0% of Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,409,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were 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. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE MA opened at $534.39 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $533.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $530.55. 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 has a market cap of $487.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 price target for the company. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 target price (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $607.96.

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.