First Trust Advisors LP Has $531.58 Million Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,009,513 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 47,759 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 0.5% of First Trust Advisors LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.11% of Mastercard worth $531,579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of MA stock traded up $3.69 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $533.70. 1,026,351 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,919,691. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $535.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $529.34. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $582.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company has a market cap of $486.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

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 net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $640.00 target price (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 price target for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $607.96.

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.