Strategy Asset Managers LLC Increases Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Strategy Asset Managers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 911 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Strategy Asset Managers LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 483.3% in the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $540.57 on Friday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $550.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $526.65. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23. The stock has a market cap of $492.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.92, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase 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 repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective for the company 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.