Richwood Investment Advisors LLC Has $2.13 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Richwood Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,037 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 171 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 1.8% of Richwood Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,126,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Banco de Sabadell S.A lifted its position in Mastercard by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Banco de Sabadell S.A now owns 7,130 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,758,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,977 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,094,000 after purchasing an additional 1,450 shares during the last quarter. Mosley Wealth Management lifted its position in Mastercard by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Mosley Wealth Management now owns 849 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,670,000. Finally, Fortis Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Capital Management LLC now owns 11,019 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,802,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE MA opened at $535.14 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $582.23. The stock has a market cap of $487.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $547.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $524.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on MA. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Macquarie boosted their target price on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

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.