Blueprint Investment Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Blueprint Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 57.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,977 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,450 shares during the period. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mosley Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Mosley Wealth Management now owns 849 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $11,670,000. Fortis Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Capital Management LLC now owns 11,019 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $5,802,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $519,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $186,950,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.6 %

Mastercard stock traded up $8.57 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $557.64. 2,901,161 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,376,040. 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 cap of $508.40 billion, a PE ratio of 40.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $550.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $526.28. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $582.23.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.76 dividend. 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 presently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on MA. Barclays boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Macquarie boosted their price target on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $606.11.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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.