Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Acquires 303 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,248 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,797,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 87.4% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 536 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 49,539 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $21,129,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 12,124 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,171,000 after purchasing an additional 2,337 shares in the last quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,853 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,350,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 42,752 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $18,041,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Mastercard stock traded down $0.46 during trading on Thursday, hitting $462.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,006,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,415,934. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $471.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $435.63. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $357.85 and a 52 week high of $490.00. The company has a market capitalization of $431.03 billion, a PE ratio of 39.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.32%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.78, for a total value of $50,443,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,996,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,887,951,416.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.78, for a total transaction of $50,443,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 96,996,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,887,951,416.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total value of $7,632,649.78. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at $5,832,644.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 366,630 shares of company stock worth $168,746,490 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of several research reports. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $535.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.23.

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.