Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stake Raised by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,851 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,187,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 661.5% in the third quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $490.23.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of MA stock traded down $0.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $454.48. 1,098,707 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,388,982. The firm has a market capitalization of $423.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $471.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $433.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $357.85 and a twelve month high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 22.32%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total value of $7,632,649.78. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at $5,832,644.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total value of $7,632,649.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,432,308 shares in the company, valued at $44,541,179,602.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 148,728 shares of company stock valued at $68,483,403 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

About Mastercard

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.