New York Life Investment Management LLC Acquires 275 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 129,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 275 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $55,367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MA. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 661.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 134 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 2.0 %

MA stock traded down $9.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $442.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,978,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,440,912. The firm has a market capitalization of $412.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.77, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $471.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $437.38.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on MA. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned 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 $490.23.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total transaction of $97,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.06, for a total transaction of $6,230,132.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at $21,388,649.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 480,630 shares of company stock valued at $221,479,470. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.