1,649 Shares in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Bought by Crux Wealth Advisors

Crux Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,649 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $868,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Addison Advisors LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 493 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,651,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. now owns 475 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $946,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on MA shares. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price target (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $607.96.

Mastercard Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE:MA opened at $509.66 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $542.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $528.27. 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 firm has a market cap of $464.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase 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 repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction 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 approximately $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.