Maridea Wealth Management LLC Buys New Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Maridea Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 1,021 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $538,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 3.0 %

Mastercard stock opened at $540.57 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $582.23. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $550.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $526.65. The company has a market capitalization of $492.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MA. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 target price (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

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.