Ethic Inc. Purchases 11,848 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Ethic Inc. grew its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 16.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,034 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,848 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 0.9% of Ethic Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $45,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $633.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. DZ Bank raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $620.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $640.00 price target (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Macquarie lowered their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $606.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock traded up $1.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $568.38. The company had a trading volume of 1,527,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,608,735. The firm has a market capitalization of $518.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50 day moving average of $532.17 and a 200 day moving average of $533.39. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $582.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Mastercard's revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.31 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th were issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.32%.

Mastercard 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.