AXQ Capital LP Purchases Shares of 715 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 715 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $376,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Marietta Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Marietta Investment Partners LLC now owns 22,494 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $11,845,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank grew its position in Mastercard by 30.2% during the fourth quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 923 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 927,146 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $488,209,000 after buying an additional 87,182 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in 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 worth $2,674,932,000 after acquiring an additional 581,697 shares during the period. Finally, Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,008,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock traded up $8.57 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $557.64. 2,901,161 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,375,774. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $582.23. The stock has a market cap of $508.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $549.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $526.06.

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Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding 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 often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This represents 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 currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Macquarie lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Mastercard from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $606.11.

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.