Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Sells 914 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL cut its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,538 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 914 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings in Mastercard were worth $12,394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,179,138 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $40,640,219,000 after acquiring an additional 377,302 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $11,725,627,000 after buying an additional 912,856 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,657,792 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $9,800,202,000 after buying an additional 282,739 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $6,022,224,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,760,740 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $5,139,713,000 after acquiring an additional 817,836 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was 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 owns 84,871 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, 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 corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $635.00 price target (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $607.96.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA traded up $4.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $517.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,329,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,624,345. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $537.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $528.79. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $582.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $471.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.25, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

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.