Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Reduces Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. reduced its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 321,531 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 11,487 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $169,309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MA. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,179,138 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,640,219,000 after buying an additional 377,302 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,288,912 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $17,425,665,000 after acquiring an additional 257,312 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,043,972,000 after purchasing an additional 453,773 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $6,022,224,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,800,836,000 after purchasing an additional 304,293 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Macquarie increased their price objective on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 price target (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business’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 transaction 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 approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $540.57 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $492.84 billion, a PE ratio of 38.92, 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. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $550.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $526.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.