Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stock Position Raised by Bfsg LLC

Bfsg LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,297 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the quarter. Bfsg LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,818,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 43,445.1% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,936,684 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,252,525,000 after purchasing an additional 2,929,940 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3,339.9% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 815,506 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $322,867,000 after purchasing an additional 791,799 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 48.4% during the third quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 1,746,342 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $691,394,000 after acquiring an additional 569,534 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 6.9% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,966,348 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,153,957,000 after acquiring an additional 515,481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 30.4% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,839,088 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $728,113,000 after acquiring an additional 428,627 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total transaction of $3,736,447.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 47,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total transaction of $97,450.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 257,630 shares of company stock worth $118,303,470 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the company an “outperform” 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.23.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA traded down $3.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $459.27. 704,982 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,397,912. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $357.85 and a one year high of $490.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $471.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $435.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $428.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.32%.

About Mastercard

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.