Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Purchased by Vulcan Value Partners LLC

Vulcan Value Partners LLC grew its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 655,145 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,466 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 5.8% of Vulcan Value Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Vulcan Value Partners LLC owned about 0.07% of Mastercard worth $344,912,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake 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. Passumpsic Savings Bank boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% during the third quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 4,990 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,464,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Resource Group boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% during the third quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 2,276 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 18.5% during the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,035 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,493,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard 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 transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA traded down $0.64 on Thursday, reaching $547.42. The stock had a trading volume of 1,432,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,890,077. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month 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. The business's 50-day moving average price is $532.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $530.73. The company has a market cap of $499.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.31 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Mastercard's payout ratio is 21.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $607.96.

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.