Savant Capital LLC Boosts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Savant Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 20.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,211 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,875 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 43,445.1% in 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 buying an additional 2,929,940 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3,339.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 815,506 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $322,867,000 after buying an additional 791,799 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC boosted 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 valued at $691,394,000 after purchasing an additional 569,534 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,966,348 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,153,957,000 after purchasing an additional 515,481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 30.4% during 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $443.80 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $471.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $437.38. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $357.85 and a 52-week high of $490.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $414.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion during 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 period last year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MA. TD Cowen began coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $490.23.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total transaction of $50,743,650.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 97,432,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,541,179,602.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 97,432,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,541,179,602.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total transaction of $3,736,447.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 47,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 480,630 shares of company stock valued at $221,479,470. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.