Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Position Boosted by Roble Belko & Company Inc

Roble Belko & Company Inc grew its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2,395.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,309 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,976 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 0.7% of Roble Belko & Company Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Roble Belko & Company Inc’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,544,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 109.2% in the 3rd quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,186 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $865,000 after buying an additional 1,141 shares in the last quarter. Essex LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 80.9% in the third quarter. Essex LLC now owns 2,489 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $985,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 18.6% in the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,343,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,254 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,288,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montecito Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 3,115 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on MA. TD Cowen started coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 target price on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.23.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total transaction of $50,743,650.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,432,308 shares in the company, valued at $44,541,179,602.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 12,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total transaction of $50,743,650.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 97,432,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,541,179,602.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 148,630 shares of company stock valued at $68,440,330 over the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock traded up $1.56 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $456.95. The stock had a trading volume of 2,157,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,405,142. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $357.85 and a 52 week high of $490.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $426.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $471.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $434.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.32%.

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.