Howe & Rusling Inc. Purchases 518 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,097 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $207,000. Toews Corp ADV bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $752,000. First Pacific Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth $86,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 91,136 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $36,082,000 after purchasing an additional 1,958 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 979 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock traded down $8.60 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $442.60. 3,913,581 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,425,856. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $357.85 and a 1-year high of $490.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $471.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $437.38. The firm has a market cap of $412.90 billion, a PE ratio of 37.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total value of $7,632,649.78. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total value of $7,632,649.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 480,630 shares of company stock worth $221,479,470 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $535.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.23.

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.