Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Acquired by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 51.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,954 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares during the quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Addison Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 493 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,651,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. now owns 475 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Augustine Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $536.08 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $546.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $524.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $488.74 billion, a PE ratio of 38.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on MA. Barclays boosted their target price 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. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

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.