Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 705 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MA. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,255,582 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $13,866,020,000 after buying an additional 495,768 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,843,692 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,509,328,000 after buying an additional 2,385,640 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $3,308,223,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,075,358 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,593,025,000 after buying an additional 251,516 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.9% during the second quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 8,420,213 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,311,670,000 after purchasing an additional 318,077 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock traded up $3.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $481.57. 2,214,542 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,325,334. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $465.19 and a 200 day moving average of $426.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $355.82 and a 52-week high of $490.00. The company has a market cap of $449.25 billion, a PE ratio of 40.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $11.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 22.32%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Mastercard news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total value of $43,072.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,740,407.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was 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 directly owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at $47,527,976,823. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,628 shares of company stock valued at $23,309,067 in the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Mastercard from $476.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 7th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Raymond James upped their price target on Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $479.62.

Mastercard Company 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.