Icon Advisers Inc. Co. Has $6.30 Million Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Icon Advisers Inc. Co. trimmed its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,965 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,350 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 1.4% of Icon Advisers Inc. Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Icon Advisers Inc. Co.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,300,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Mastercard from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Six investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $607.96.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA traded up $4.03 on Friday, reaching $517.46. The company had a trading volume of 3,329,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,621,853. The company has a fifty day moving average of $538.81 and a 200-day moving average of $528.64. The company has a market capitalization of $471.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.25, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $582.23. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction 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 $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Company 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.