Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Purchases 550 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,723 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 550 shares during the period. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $19,864,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $194,141,000 after purchasing an additional 9,611 shares during the last quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $35,932,000 after buying an additional 2,931 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in 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 valued at $1,325,353,000 after buying an additional 337,905 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 4.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 138,842 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 71,862 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $37,841,000 after acquiring an additional 1,194 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA traded up $2.41 on Monday, hitting $512.16. 1,143,007 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,929,592. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $582.23. The company has a market cap of $466.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $542.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $528.53.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is 21.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $640.00 price target (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $635.00 price objective (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $607.96.

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.