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

Blue Edge Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,438 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the quarter. Blue Edge Capital LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MA. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 483.3% in the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA opened at $515.90 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $545.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $528.04. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $582.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $470.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released 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 return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 target price on the stock. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $607.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by 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.