Howe & Rusling Inc. Raises Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,152 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,207 shares during the quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $9,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after buying an additional 138,842 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,540,000. Hardy Reed LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 4,992 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,465,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas raised its position in Mastercard by 16.0% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 26,538 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $13,104,000 after acquiring an additional 3,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 36.2% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 9,783 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,831,000 after purchasing an additional 2,601 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $549.13 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.23. The stock has a market cap of $500.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $549.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $526.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (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 forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

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.