Unique Wealth Strategies LLC Makes New Investment in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,140 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,192,000. Mastercard makes up approximately 1.5% of Unique Wealth Strategies LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 43,445.1% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,936,684 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,252,525,000 after buying an additional 2,929,940 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Mastercard by 3,339.9% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 815,506 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $322,867,000 after purchasing an additional 791,799 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 48.4% during the third quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 1,746,342 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $691,394,000 after purchasing an additional 569,534 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 6.9% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,966,348 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,153,957,000 after purchasing an additional 515,481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard by 30.4% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,839,088 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $728,113,000 after purchasing an additional 428,627 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.23.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total transaction of $50,743,650.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 97,432,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,541,179,602.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total transaction of $50,743,650.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,432,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,541,179,602.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total value of $3,736,447.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares in the company, valued at $22,672,828.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 366,630 shares of company stock valued at $168,746,490 in the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $462.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,963,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,212,406. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $471.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $436.10. The company has a market capitalization of $431.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.09, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.08. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $357.85 and a fifty-two week 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.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.32%.

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.