Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Acquired by Blue Edge Capital LLC

Blue Edge Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,438 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Blue Edge Capital LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,179,138 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,640,219,000 after purchasing an additional 377,302 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,725,627,000 after acquiring an additional 912,856 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,657,792 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,800,202,000 after purchasing an additional 282,739 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,022,224,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Mastercard by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,760,740 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,139,713,000 after purchasing an additional 817,836 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $515.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $470.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.14, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $545.10 and a 200 day moving average of $528.04.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. As a group, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire 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 shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following 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 represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MA. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 target price (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $607.96.

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.