Stevens Capital Management LP Increases Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Stevens Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 91.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,251 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,034 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,813,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cypress Wealth Services LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 864 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,996 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $851,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in Mastercard by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 1,037 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 598 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tufton Capital Management lifted its position in Mastercard by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 604 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.23.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $462.42. 1,962,802 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,410,342. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $471.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $435.63. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $357.85 and a fifty-two week high of $490.00. The stock has a market cap of $431.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.07, 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 current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.06, for a total value of $6,230,132.52. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at $21,388,649.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 96,996,308 shares in the company, valued at $44,887,951,416.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.06, for a total value of $6,230,132.52. Following the sale, the insider now owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at $21,388,649.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 366,630 shares of company stock worth $168,746,490. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard 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.