Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stock Holdings Raised by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,684 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MA. Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $925,662,000 after buying an additional 241,297 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after buying an additional 138,842 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 11,152 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,507,000 after buying an additional 1,464 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth about $272,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 86,952 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $42,937,000 after purchasing an additional 6,291 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 target price (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four research 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 data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.2 %

Mastercard stock opened at $535.14 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $487.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $547.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $524.36.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

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

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.