Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Purchases 339 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. boosted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,441 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth $36,000. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 661.5% in the third quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 34.0% in the fourth quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 134 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.46, for a total transaction of $49,863,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 97,215,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,472,114,797.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.46, for a total value of $49,863,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,215,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,472,114,797.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total value of $3,736,447.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 47,640 shares in the company, valued at $22,672,828.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 257,630 shares of company stock worth $118,303,470 in the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA traded up $5.87 on Tuesday, hitting $462.62. 2,027,850 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,400,298. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $471.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $434.80. The firm has a market cap of $431.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.08. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $357.85 and a one year high of $490.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp increased their target price on Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.23.

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.