SlateStone Wealth LLC Boosts Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,156 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 724 shares during the quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,905,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 661.5% during the third quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 134 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE MA opened at $464.72 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $471.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $435.26. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $357.85 and a 52 week high of $490.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The stock has a market cap of $433.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.11, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 22.32%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction 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 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 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 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 47,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 257,630 shares of company stock valued at $118,303,470. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $535.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Two investment 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.