Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Position Increased by Syon Capital LLC

Syon Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 26.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,440 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,767 shares during the quarter. Syon Capital LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,600,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cross Staff Investments Inc increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 3,148 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 40,951 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,466,000 after purchasing an additional 3,172 shares during the period. Channing Global Advisors LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Channing Global Advisors LLC now owns 7,037 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,001,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP increased its stake in Mastercard by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 11,364 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,847,000 after buying an additional 1,832 shares during the period. Finally, Disciplined Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,167 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $924,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at $47,527,976,823. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 366,630 shares of company stock valued at $168,746,490 over the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:MA traded up $0.31 on Friday, hitting $462.42. 1,962,799 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,410,264. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $471.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $435.63. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $357.85 and a 52 week high of $490.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $431.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 22.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.23.

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.