Well Done LLC Invests $220,000 in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Well Done LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 515 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. State Street Corp increased its stake in Mastercard by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,255,582 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $13,866,020,000 after buying an additional 495,768 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,843,692 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,509,328,000 after acquiring an additional 2,385,640 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $3,308,223,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Mastercard by 2.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,075,358 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,593,025,000 after purchasing an additional 251,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 3.9% in the second quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 8,420,213 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,311,670,000 after purchasing an additional 318,077 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $479.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total transaction of $43,072.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,740,407.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly 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 50,628 shares of company stock valued at $23,309,067 in the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA traded up $2.45 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $480.40. The stock had a trading volume of 908,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,420,759. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $463.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $426.09. The company has a market capitalization of $448.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.08. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $355.82 and a fifty-two week high of $490.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 22.32%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $11.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.