Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Buys Shares of 10,569 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 10,569 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,565,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,022,224,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 79,739.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $818,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553,329 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $617,303,000. Finally, Demars Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 50,438.6% during the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 981,460 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $516,807,000 after buying an additional 979,518 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MA. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $633.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn cut Mastercard from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Six equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $606.18.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA traded up $12.55 on Friday, hitting $559.18. 2,632,574 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,619,791. The firm has a market capitalization of $509.81 billion, a PE ratio of 40.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $582.23. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $532.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $531.01. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.31 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard's payout ratio is 21.89%.

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.