Federated Hermes Inc. Raises Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 95.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 174,667 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 85,281 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $91,974,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,179,138 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,640,219,000 after buying an additional 377,302 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,657,792 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,800,202,000 after acquiring an additional 282,739 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $6,022,224,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,760,740 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,139,713,000 after purchasing an additional 817,836 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,714,073 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,061,998,000 after purchasing an additional 212,259 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on MA. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price objective (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Macquarie lifted their target price on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Down 7.7 %

MA stock opened at $489.94 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $550.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $528.50. The company has a market capitalization of $446.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.27, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.23.

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

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard 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.