Machina Capital S.A.S. Makes New Investment in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,314 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $560,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 36.3% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 46,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $19,701,000 after acquiring an additional 12,310 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 4,892 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,087,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,450,000. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $576,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 58,069 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $25,363,000 after buying an additional 5,226 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MA. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $535.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays lowered their price objective on Mastercard from $549.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $496.27.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MA traded up $5.79 on Monday, hitting $449.37. 2,513,529 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,473,001. The stock has a market capitalization of $419.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08. 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 1.86, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $469.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $438.74.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.09% and a return on equity of 183.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.22 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. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,527,976,823. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total transaction of $97,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total value of $3,736,447.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 725,088 shares of company stock worth $329,657,858 in the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is 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.