Optivise Advisory Services LLC Acquires Shares of 383 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Optivise Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 383 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $509.78 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $464.77 billion, a PE ratio of 36.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.23. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $536.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $529.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

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

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 dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MA. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price target (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $607.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.