Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Bought by Everett Harris & Co. CA

Everett Harris & Co. CA grew its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 49,539 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Everett Harris & Co. CA’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $21,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $3,308,223,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 111,819.8% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,983,231 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,080,549,000 after buying an additional 5,977,885 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,843,692 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,509,328,000 after acquiring an additional 2,385,640 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 145.7% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,960,242 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,164,263,000 after acquiring an additional 1,755,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in Mastercard by 3.9% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,759,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $12,632,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303,477 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Mastercard stock traded up $1.15 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $477.95. 2,249,400 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,446,885. The stock has a market cap of $445.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $463.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $426.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $352.80 and a 12-month high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 22.32%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $479.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total transaction of $97,450.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,527,976,823. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,628 shares of company stock valued at $23,309,067. 0.13% 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.