Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 200,822 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,961 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 5.1% of Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $105,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. Trek Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Trek Financial LLC now owns 2,539 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,337,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $11,725,627,000 after purchasing an additional 912,856 shares during the period. Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,360 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,822,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Polymer Capital Management HK LTD purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $211,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
MA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Six equities research 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 company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $607.96.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on Mastercard
Mastercard Stock Performance
MA stock traded up $10.32 during trading on Friday, reaching $509.66. 3,735,418 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,610,028. The firm has a market cap of $464.66 billion, a PE ratio of 36.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $582.23. The company's fifty day moving average price is $542.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $528.27.
Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) 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, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Mastercard Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.
Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard
In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company's 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 completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
About Mastercard
(
Free Report)
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.
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