Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Has $4.32 Million Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. decreased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 143 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,075,358 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,593,025,000 after buying an additional 251,516 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 6.9% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,966,348 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,153,957,000 after buying an additional 515,481 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 5.9% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,510,259 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,181,964,000 after buying an additional 306,663 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Mastercard by 1.1% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,314,881 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,104,214,000 after buying an additional 56,642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 0.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,557,530 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,804,372,000 after buying an additional 16,019 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total transaction of $3,736,447.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 47,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.78, for a total value of $50,443,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 96,996,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,887,951,416.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total transaction of $3,736,447.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 47,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 366,630 shares of company stock valued at $168,746,490 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $462.42 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $471.35 and a 200-day moving average of $436.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $357.85 and a one year high of $490.00. The company has a market cap of $431.39 billion, a PE ratio of 39.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $490.23.

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.