Farringdon Capital Ltd. Invests $2.86 Million in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Farringdon Capital Ltd. bought a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 5,429 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,859,000. Mastercard makes up 1.2% of Farringdon Capital Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MA. Demars Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 50,438.6% during the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 981,460 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $516,807,000 after purchasing an additional 979,518 shares during the last quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $364,000. MSH Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $302,000. Zacks Investment Management raised its stake in Mastercard by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 44,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $23,526,000 after acquiring an additional 929 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 78,640 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $41,410,000 after acquiring an additional 9,317 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.7 %

MA stock opened at $513.71 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $468.35 billion, a PE ratio of 36.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $582.23. 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 50 day simple moving average of $539.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $528.48.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of several recent research reports. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their price objective on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $633.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $607.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.