Cambridge Financial Group Inc. Cuts Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Cambridge Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,344 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 966 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 3.5% of Cambridge Financial Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Cambridge Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,971,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Mastercard by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,075,358 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,593,025,000 after acquiring an additional 251,516 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,510,259 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,181,964,000 after purchasing an additional 306,663 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Mastercard by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,314,881 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,104,214,000 after buying an additional 56,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,557,530 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,804,372,000 after buying an additional 16,019 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total transaction of $97,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,527,976,823. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total value of $7,632,649.78. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total transaction of $97,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 583,088 shares of company stock valued at $266,873,978 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.6 %

Mastercard stock traded up $2.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $443.58. 3,711,610 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,507,301. The firm has a market cap of $413.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.26, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.09. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $357.85 and a 52-week high of $490.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $469.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $437.74.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.09% and a return on equity of 183.70%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on MA. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $520.00 to $510.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $493.55.

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.