O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Acquires 15,840 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 16.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 112,258 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,840 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $59,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on MA. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA opened at $540.57 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $550.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $526.92. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $492.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.92, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given 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 0.56%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

About Mastercard

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.