Elk River Wealth Management LLC Buys 77 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Elk River Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 27,848 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 2.3% of Elk River Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Elk River Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $11,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bollard Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt started coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $479.62.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MA traded down $1.70 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $475.10. 1,007,540 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,424,118. The stock has a market cap of $443.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $462.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $425.66. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $352.80 and a 52-week high of $490.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 22.32%.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $11.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total transaction of $3,736,447.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 47,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total transaction of $3,736,447.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,628 shares of company stock valued at $23,309,067 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.