Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Holdings Lowered by Capital International Investors

Capital International Investors trimmed its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,284,057 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,283,145 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 2.0% of Capital International Investors’ holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Capital International Investors owned approximately 2.21% of Mastercard worth $10,680,877,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $517.46 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $471.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.25, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $538.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $528.64. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors 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 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $607.96.

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.