Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Takes Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,435 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,915,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 483.3% in the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity 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 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 owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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Mastercard Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE MA traded up $5.23 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $517.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,210,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,612,639. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $582.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $471.98 billion, a PE ratio of 37.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $540.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $528.58.

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 (EPS) 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, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $640.00 price objective (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.