Hoey Investments Inc. grew its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 1,100.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 600 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 550 shares during the quarter. Hoey Investments Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after purchasing an additional 138,842 shares during the period. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 3,986 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,968,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter worth $51,962,000. B&L Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $6,676,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth about $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.
Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard
In other Mastercard 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 value of $8,678,774.00. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.
Mastercard Stock Performance
Shares of Mastercard stock traded down $17.24 on Thursday, hitting $530.14. The stock had a trading volume of 2,390,984 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,549,814. The stock has a market cap of $483.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The business's 50 day moving average is $551.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $528.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. 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 posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.
Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.
Mastercard Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is 21.89%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
MA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Mastercard from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $640.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $606.11.
Check Out Our Latest Report on MA
About Mastercard
(
Free Report)
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.
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