Crux Wealth Advisors Purchases Shares of 1,649 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Crux Wealth Advisors bought 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 (SEC). The fund bought 1,649 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $868,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,022,224,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,553,329 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $11,725,627,000 after acquiring an additional 912,856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,760,740 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $5,139,713,000 after purchasing an additional 817,836 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were 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 owns 34,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA traded up $5.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $517.69. 2,210,547 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,612,639. The company has a market cap of $471.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.27, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $541.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $528.66. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.23.

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

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is 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 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Mastercard from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $607.96.

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.