SRS Capital Advisors Inc. Acquires 142 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,793 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,471,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 661.5% during the third quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 134 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Mastercard from $520.00 to $510.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $493.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at $47,527,976,823. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total transaction of $97,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at $47,527,976,823. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total transaction of $7,632,649.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,832,644.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 467,088 shares of company stock valued at $215,249,338 in the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1 %

MA stock traded up $0.27 during trading on Thursday, reaching $442.34. 2,194,200 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,437,372. The firm has a market cap of $412.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $357.85 and a twelve month high of $490.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $470.78 and its 200 day moving average is $437.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 22.32%.

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.