Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Purchased by Howard Financial Services LTD.

Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,619 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,261,000 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. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,595,559,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 43,445.1% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,936,684 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,252,525,000 after buying an additional 2,929,940 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,253,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,096,470,000 after buying an additional 742,076 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,041,685 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,974,478,000 after buying an additional 676,452 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Mastercard by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,608,023 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,803,956,000 after purchasing an additional 605,909 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock traded down $1.59 during trading on Friday, reaching $441.16. 4,068,422 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,460,479. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $452.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $452.77. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $359.77 and a 52-week high of $490.00. The company has a market cap of $410.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.22, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.09.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 183.70% and a net margin of 46.09%. The company’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho decreased their target price on Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Mastercard from $536.00 to $524.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Mastercard from $520.00 to $510.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $496.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.78, for a total value of $50,443,020.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,996,308 shares in the company, valued at $44,887,951,416.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.00, for a total value of $136,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,463 shares in the company, valued at $1,572,202. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.78, for a total transaction of $50,443,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,996,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,887,951,416.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,163,228 shares of company stock worth $1,428,540,870. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.