Belpointe Asset Management LLC Buys 2,138 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 30.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,248 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,138 shares during the quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MA. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 11,329 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,966,000 after purchasing an additional 1,546 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 574,594 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $302,559,000 after buying an additional 19,205 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 825 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Peninsula Wealth LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 1,282 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $675,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trustmark National Bank Trust Department increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 50.5% during the 4th quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 948 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MA. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $640.00 price objective (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $620.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Six investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $607.96.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.8 %

Mastercard stock traded up $4.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $517.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,329,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,621,853. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $538.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $528.64. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $582.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $471.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

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.