O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Buys 15,840 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 16.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 112,258 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,840 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $59,112,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Down 3.0 %

Mastercard stock opened at $540.57 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $550.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $526.92. 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 has a market capitalization of $492.84 billion, a price-to-earnings 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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie raised their price objective 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. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 price target (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, 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. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.