Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC Has $297,000 Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 564 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $925,662,000 after buying an additional 241,297 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,497,160,000 after buying an additional 138,842 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 14.5% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 2,978 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,470,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,540,000. Finally, Family Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 5.7% in the third quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 858 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $424,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.2 %

MA opened at $535.14 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $487.89 billion, a PE ratio of 38.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $547.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $524.95.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts expect 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 plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on MA. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Macquarie upped their price objective on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

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.