Guardian Partners Inc. Makes New Investment in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 22,598 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $11,670,000. Mastercard accounts for about 1.2% of Guardian Partners Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,288,912 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $17,425,665,000 after purchasing an additional 257,312 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $10,545,139,000 after purchasing an additional 700,769 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $9,043,972,000 after purchasing an additional 453,773 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,800,836,000 after buying an additional 304,293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,308,684 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,115,228,000 after buying an additional 64,456 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard 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 directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company'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 transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MA. UBS Group lifted their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $640.00 target price (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.6 %

Mastercard stock traded up $8.57 during trading on Thursday, reaching $557.64. 2,901,161 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,376,040. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $550.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $526.28. The company has a market capitalization of $508.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.15, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.23.

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

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 0.55%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

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.