Valley National Advisers Inc. Purchases 69 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 885 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $426,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in Mastercard by 87.4% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 536 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Cross Staff Investments Inc raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 3,148 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,343,000 after buying an additional 441 shares during the period. Everett Harris & Co. CA raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 49,539 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $21,129,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 12,124 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,171,000 after buying an additional 2,337 shares during the period. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 490 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Mastercard from $536.00 to $524.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Mastercard from $520.00 to $510.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $496.91.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $448.18 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $359.77 and a twelve month high of $490.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $450.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $453.63. The firm has a market cap of $416.63 billion, a PE ratio of 35.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.09.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. Mastercard had a return on equity of 183.70% and a net margin of 46.09%. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 151,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.55, for a total transaction of $68,335,050.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,930,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,413,260,885.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.23, for a total value of $134,169.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,817,095.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 151,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.55, for a total value of $68,335,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 95,930,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,413,260,885.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,163,228 shares of company stock worth $1,428,540,870. Insiders own 0.10% 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.