Ethic Inc. Has $45.30 Million Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 16.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 86,034 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,848 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 0.9% of Ethic Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $45,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 493 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,651,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. now owns 475 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $946,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC raised its holdings in 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 valued at $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.25.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA opened at $567.41 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $531.90 and a 200 day moving average of $532.71. The stock has a market cap of $517.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.85, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. The business’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.31 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.32%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, 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. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.