Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Acquired by Zhang Financial LLC

Zhang Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,480 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $631,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,308,223,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 111,819.8% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,983,231 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,080,549,000 after purchasing an additional 5,977,885 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted 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 worth $1,252,525,000 after purchasing an additional 2,929,940 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,843,692 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,509,328,000 after purchasing an additional 2,385,640 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 145.7% during the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,960,242 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,164,263,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755,483 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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. KeyCorp raised their price target 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. Finally, Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $490.23.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $455.39 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $471.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $433.78. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $357.85 and a 12 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $424.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of Mastercard 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at $47,527,976,823. 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 200 shares of Mastercard 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at $47,527,976,823. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total transaction of $7,632,649.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at $5,832,644.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 148,728 shares of company stock worth $68,483,403. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Mastercard

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.