Waycross Partners LLC Acquires 754 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Waycross Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,071 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 754 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 2.6% of Waycross Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Waycross Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $13,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,075,358 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,593,025,000 after purchasing an additional 251,516 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,966,348 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,153,957,000 after purchasing an additional 515,481 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,510,259 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,181,964,000 after purchasing an additional 306,663 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,314,881 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,104,214,000 after purchasing an additional 56,642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,557,530 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,804,372,000 after purchasing an additional 16,019 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective 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. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 114,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.57, for a total value of $52,732,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 96,767,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,761,653,661.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 114,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.57, for a total value of $52,732,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 96,767,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,761,653,661.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total value of $3,736,447.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 480,630 shares of company stock valued at $221,479,470 over the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock traded down $5.91 on Tuesday, hitting $451.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,696,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,410,313. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $471.12 and its 200-day moving average is $437.38. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $357.85 and a fifty-two week high of $490.00. The company has a market capitalization of $420.91 billion, a PE ratio of 38.14, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 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.