Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Purchases 501 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,684 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,679,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 51.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,846,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965,782 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth 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 last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $10,545,139,000 after acquiring an additional 700,769 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,079,915 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,674,932,000 after acquiring an additional 581,697 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Transactions at Mastercard

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 value of $3,813,337.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE MA traded down $1.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $542.53. 736,479 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,376,994. 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 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $582.23. The stock has a market cap of $494.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.07, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $548.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $525.42.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays upped their target price on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $606.11.

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.