Wedbush Securities Inc. Purchases 1,813 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,926 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,813 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 0.5% of Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $13,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard by 483.3% during the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related 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 transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 target price (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 price target (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 7.7 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $489.94 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $582.23. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $550.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $528.08. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $446.68 billion, a PE ratio of 35.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

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

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.62%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

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.