Grant Private Wealth Management Inc Makes New Investment in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Grant Private Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 642 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $338,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 62.5% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard by 483.3% during the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MA. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 price target (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $547.62 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23. The company has a market cap of $499.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. 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 50-day moving average price of $551.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $528.12.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.