Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Position Increased by Howe & Rusling Inc.

Howe & Rusling Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,152 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,207 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $9,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $549.13 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $500.64 billion, a PE ratio of 39.53, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $549.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $526.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report 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.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

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.