Zuckerman Investment Group LLC Acquires 274 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Zuckerman Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,883 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,626,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the 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 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now 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. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $515.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $470.35 billion, a PE ratio of 37.14, a P/E/G 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 Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $582.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $545.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $528.04.

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

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday. They set an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 price objective for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently 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.