Groupama Asset Managment Decreases Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Groupama Asset Managment reduced its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,272 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 2,625 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment's holdings in Mastercard were worth $9,077,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% during the third quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,385,383,000 after acquiring an additional 62,891 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its stake in Mastercard by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $194,141,000 after purchasing an additional 9,611 shares in the last quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 2,931 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Mastercard by 15.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 337,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 138,842 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

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Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock traded down $40.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $489.94. The stock had a trading volume of 6,121,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,568,339. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $582.23. The firm has a market cap of $446.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.27, a PEG 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 business's fifty day moving average is $551.80 and its 200-day moving average is $528.13.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares in the company, 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 accessible through this link. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on MA. Macquarie raised their price target on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $635.00 target price (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Profile

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.