Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s 10th Largest Position

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 756,911 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 58,701 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 1.2% of Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.08% of Mastercard worth $398,567,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 483.3% in the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $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. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 target price (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE MA opened at $557.64 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $550.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $526.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a market cap of $508.40 billion, a PE ratio of 40.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 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%. 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 initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard Company 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.