Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stock Position Raised by RiverPark Advisors LLC

RiverPark Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 72.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,294 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 2.9% of RiverPark Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. RiverPark Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,139,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Addison Advisors LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 493 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,651,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. now owns 475 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $946,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price 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. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Six 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $607.96.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $530.11 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $582.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $535.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $529.34. The stock has a market cap of $483.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued 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 is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

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.