Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Purchased by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,926 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,813 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 0.5% of Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $13,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,049,991 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,079,464,000 after purchasing an additional 54,011 shares in the last quarter. Katamaran Capital LLP purchased a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,466,000. Oarsman Capital Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 1,262 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,846 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,025,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $135,688,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. DZ Bank upgraded 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, Seaport Res Ptn cut Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 7.7 %

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $489.94 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $446.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $550.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $528.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 year.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.