Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC Grows Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,318 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 298 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MA. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bollard Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.8 %

MA stock traded up $3.62 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $481.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,214,542 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,325,334. 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 $355.82 and a 52-week high of $490.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $449.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.71, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $465.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $426.84.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 22.32%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Mastercard from $476.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 7th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $479.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 8,900 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $430.26, for a total value of $3,829,314.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 46,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,003,217.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of Mastercard 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 in the company, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 50,628 shares of company stock valued at $23,309,067. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.