Scarborough Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 66 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 66 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $28,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. VitalStone Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.4 %

MA stock opened at $450.11 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $418.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.78, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $359.77 and a 12 month high of $490.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $453.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $451.24.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.09% and a return on equity of 183.70%. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $520.00 to $510.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $497.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 151,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.55, for a total value of $68,335,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 95,930,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,413,260,885.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Hai Ling sold 2,892 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.00, for a total value of $1,330,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 21,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,853,200. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 151,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.55, for a total transaction of $68,335,050.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,930,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,413,260,885.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,774,400 shares of company stock worth $1,251,767,900. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.