Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Bought by Ninety One SA PTY Ltd

Ninety One SA PTY Ltd raised its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 25.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,891 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,016 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 2.8% of Ninety One SA PTY Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $18,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth $25,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 661.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MA shares. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $535.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $490.23.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA traded down $5.82 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $454.34. 1,061,699 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,393,494. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $357.85 and a 1-year high of $490.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $471.83 and a 200 day moving average of $433.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $423.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 4,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $435.00, for a total transaction of $1,740,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,712,225. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.06, for a total transaction of $6,230,132.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at $21,388,649.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 4,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $435.00, for a total transaction of $1,740,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,712,225. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,728 shares of company stock valued at $19,479,753 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.