Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Holdings Lifted by Invesco Ltd.

Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 0.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,837,519 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 972 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 0.5% of Invesco Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.53% of Mastercard worth $2,547,292,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.7% in the 4th 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 during the period. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,237 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $35,932,000 after buying an additional 2,931 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Mastercard by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,325,353,000 after buying an additional 337,905 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,497,160,000 after acquiring an additional 138,842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 71,862 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $37,841,000 after acquiring an additional 1,194 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MA traded up $10.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $509.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,735,418 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,610,028. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $582.23. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $542.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $528.27. The firm has a market cap of $464.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. Mastercard's payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $640.00 price target (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $633.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $607.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company's stock, 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 owned by corporate insiders.

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.