Montag & Caldwell LLC Takes $142,000 Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Montag & Caldwell LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 270 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $142,000.

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

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business’s 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on MA shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price objective (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $607.96.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $512.18 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $541.74 and its 200 day moving average is $528.66. 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 one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $582.23. The firm has a market cap of $466.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. As a group, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan 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 repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

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.