Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Position Increased by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,628 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 995 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 0.9% of Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $14,750,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. VitalStone Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.78, for a total value 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,028 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.06, for a total value of $4,072,169.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,585,476.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,163,228 shares of company stock worth $1,428,540,870. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on MA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $520.00 to $510.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $535.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Mizuho decreased their target price on Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Mastercard from $536.00 to $524.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $498.57.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA traded up $3.69 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $440.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,622,723 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,485,623. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $449.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $454.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $359.77 and a fifty-two week high of $490.00. The company has a market capitalization of $409.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.09.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 183.70% and a net margin of 46.09%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

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.