Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stake Boosted by Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC

Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,360 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 1.8% of Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on MA shares. DZ Bank upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 price objective (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price objective (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $489.94 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $550.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $528.26. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $582.23. The company has a market capitalization of $446.68 billion, a PE ratio of 35.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Company 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.