Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC’s 3rd Largest Position

Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC cut its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,884,664 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 126,644 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 11.2% of Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $992,408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 target price (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA opened at $540.57 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $492.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $550.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $526.65. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the 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 owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Company 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.