Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management Purchases 93 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management grew its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 955 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after acquiring an additional 138,842 shares during the period. Passumpsic Savings Bank lifted its position in Mastercard by 2.9% during the third quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 4,990 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,464,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Advisory Resource Group lifted its position in Mastercard by 1.3% during the third quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 2,276 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 18.5% during the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,533,000 after buying an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,035 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,493,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $533.26 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $582.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market cap of $486.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.39, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $534.04 and a 200-day moving average of $530.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.