Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,497,169 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 47,910 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 1.1% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.16% of Mastercard worth $638,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 43,445.1% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,936,684 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,252,525,000 after buying an additional 2,929,940 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 3,339.9% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 815,506 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $322,867,000 after buying an additional 791,799 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 48.4% in the third quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 1,746,342 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $691,394,000 after buying an additional 569,534 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,966,348 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,153,957,000 after purchasing an additional 515,481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 30.4% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,839,088 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $728,113,000 after purchasing an additional 428,627 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $535.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.23.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.78, for a total value of $50,443,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 96,996,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,887,951,416.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total transaction of $7,632,649.78. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.78, for a total value of $50,443,020.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,996,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,887,951,416.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 366,630 shares of company stock valued at $168,746,490 in the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:MA traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $462.42. 1,963,273 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,212,406. The company’s 50 day moving average is $471.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $436.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $357.85 and a twelve month high of $490.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The company has a market capitalization of $431.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.32%.

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.