Benjamin Edwards Inc. Increases Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 102,593 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,857 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 0.8% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $54,041,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Whalerock Point Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 14,678 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,729,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $194,141,000 after purchasing an additional 9,611 shares during the last quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,237 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $35,932,000 after purchasing an additional 2,931 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,325,353,000 after purchasing an additional 337,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after purchasing an additional 138,842 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:MA traded down $1.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $559.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,340,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,607,705. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $510.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $582.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $532.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $532.12.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This trade 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 is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $640.00 price objective (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $635.00 price objective (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $606.25.

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.