Altman Advisors Inc. Acquires 40 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Altman Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,987 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the quarter. Altman Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 81,707 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,025,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461 shares during the period. Seeds Investor LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Seeds Investor LLC now owns 2,194 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,915,000. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 129,846 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $68,373,000 after purchasing an additional 7,124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crux Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $868,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the business’s 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 owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $509.66 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company has a market capitalization of $464.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.69, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $542.81 and its 200 day moving average is $528.27.

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

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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 is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Macquarie increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their target price on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price objective (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $607.96.

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.