Crowley Wealth Management Inc. Acquires New Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,780 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $938,000. Mastercard accounts for 0.8% of Crowley Wealth Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Mastercard by 51.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,846,187,000 after buying an additional 1,965,782 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 79,739.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $818,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553,329 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 3.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after acquiring an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,079,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,674,932,000 after purchasing an additional 581,697 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 target price (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $535.14 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $547.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $524.65. The company has a market capitalization of $487.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

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.