Headlands Technologies LLC Buys New Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,777 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,989,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,179,138 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $40,640,219,000 after acquiring an additional 377,302 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,288,912 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $17,425,665,000 after purchasing an additional 257,312 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 282,739 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $6,022,224,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Mastercard by 9.1% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 817,836 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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 stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of 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. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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Mastercard Stock Performance

MA traded down $17.23 on Thursday, hitting $530.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,442,661 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,554,172. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $582.23. The firm has a market cap of $483.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $551.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $528.13.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie raised their target price on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $606.11.

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.