Auxano Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Auxano Advisors LLC lifted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,048 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Auxano Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $447,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 43,445.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 3,339.9% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 815,506 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $322,867,000 after purchasing an additional 791,799 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 1,746,342 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $691,394,000 after buying an additional 569,534 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 6.9% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,966,348 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,153,957,000 after acquiring an additional 515,481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,839,088 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $728,113,000 after purchasing an additional 428,627 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on MA shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.23.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total value of $50,743,650.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,432,308 shares in the company, valued at $44,541,179,602.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total value of $50,743,650.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,432,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,541,179,602.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total value of $7,632,649.78. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 480,630 shares of company stock worth $221,479,470. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE MA traded down $5.90 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $451.20. 2,688,162 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,410,052. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $471.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $437.01. The company has a market cap of $420.92 billion, a PE ratio of 38.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $357.85 and a twelve month high of $490.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. The firm had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. Research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 22.32%.

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.