Strategy Asset Managers LLC Grows Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Strategy Asset Managers LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 911 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Strategy Asset Managers LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% during the third quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,385,383,000 after acquiring an additional 62,891 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $194,141,000 after purchasing an additional 9,611 shares during the period. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,237 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,932,000 after purchasing an additional 2,931 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,325,353,000 after buying an additional 337,905 shares during the period. Finally, 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 worth $1,497,160,000 after buying an additional 138,842 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 3.0 %

MA stock opened at $540.57 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $492.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.92, a PEG 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. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $550.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $526.65.

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

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 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 approximately $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

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.