Bank of Nova Scotia Has $94.57 Million Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Bank of Nova Scotia cut its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 28.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 179,510 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 71,737 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Mastercard were worth $94,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 483.3% in the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value 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 approximately $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA traded up $10.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $509.66. 3,735,418 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,610,523. The company has a market cap of $464.66 billion, a PE ratio of 36.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $542.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $528.53.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on MA shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $635.00 target price (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average 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.