Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 57,923 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 57,923 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $30,501,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 4.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,497,160,000 after purchasing an additional 138,842 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,325,353,000 after acquiring an additional 337,905 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 40.6% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 9,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,739,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 8,522 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,487,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boltwood Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,055 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,082,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $559.18 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $582.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $509.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $532.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $531.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. The company's revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.31 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.32%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $640.00 price target (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $633.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Mastercard from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Macquarie cut their price objective on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $606.18.

Mastercard Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.