Financial Counselors Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Financial Counselors Inc. increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,210 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 494 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,903,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 4.8% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,540,000. Hardy Reed LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 4,992 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,465,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. BNP Paribas raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 26,538 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $13,104,000 after purchasing an additional 3,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 36.2% in the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 9,783 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,831,000 after acquiring an additional 2,601 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on MA shares. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $549.13 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $500.64 billion, a PE ratio of 39.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $582.23. The company has a fifty day moving average of $549.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $526.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

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.