Financial Symmetry Inc Makes New $203,000 Investment in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Financial Symmetry Inc purchased a new position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 476 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard by 661.5% during the third quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at $47,527,976,823. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total transaction of $43,072.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,740,407.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 148,728 shares of company stock valued at $68,483,403 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.23.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $454.28. 892,217 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,386,084. The stock has a market capitalization of $423.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $471.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $433.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $357.85 and a 52-week high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.32%.

About Mastercard

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.