Zuckerman Investment Group LLC Boosts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Zuckerman Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA – Get Rating) by 17.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cowa LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter worth $114,000. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.4% in the third quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 544,242 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $154,750,000 after buying an additional 2,194 shares in the last quarter. Saybrook Capital NC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Saybrook Capital NC now owns 18,453 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,247,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Excalibur Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 2,962 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $842,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 21,296 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,055,000 after acquiring an additional 3,513 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 6,333 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.05, for a total value of $2,406,856.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 41,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,701,385.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 177,211 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.14, for a total transaction of $56,377,907.54. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,211,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,517,606,377.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 6,333 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.05, for a total value of $2,406,856.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 41,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,701,385.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 367,819 shares of company stock valued at $117,733,271. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Redburn Partners began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, November 29th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Mastercard from $441.00 to $437.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 28th. StockNews.com started coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, October 12th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Moffett Nathanson reduced their price objective on Mastercard to $420.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $406.73.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of MA stock traded down $1.79 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $378.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 588,738 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,094,626. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $363.64 billion, a PE ratio of 37.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $354.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $335.42. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $276.87 and a 12-month high of $399.92.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 27th. The credit services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 148.94% and a net margin of 45.22%. The firm had revenue of $5.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.66 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 10.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 9th. Investors of record on Monday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 6th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.78%.

Mastercard Profile

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Mastercard, Inc operates as a technology company. The firm engages in the payments industry that connects consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and business. It offers payment solutions for the development and implementation of credit, debit, prepaid, commercial and payment programs.