Meritage Portfolio Management Buys 3,172 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Meritage Portfolio Management increased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,951 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,172 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 1.2% of Meritage Portfolio Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $17,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 18.6% in the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the last quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 2,919 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,156,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 8,629 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,435,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth $410,000. Finally, Nikulski Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. now owns 3,871 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,533,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.23.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,527,976,823. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.06, for a total transaction of $6,230,132.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at $21,388,649.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at $47,527,976,823. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 366,630 shares of company stock valued at $168,746,490 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $461.69. The stock had a trading volume of 1,030,012 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,397,815. The company has a market capitalization of $430.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $471.46 and a 200-day moving average of $435.63. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $357.85 and a 12-month high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company 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 presently 22.32%.

Mastercard 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.