Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Lowers Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp reduced its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,891 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 866 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $489.94 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23. 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 50 day moving average price of $550.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $528.50. The company has a market cap of $446.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.27, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

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

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard 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 approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie boosted their target price on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Company 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.