Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Acquires 1,653 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,128 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,653 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $22,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its stake 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 valued at $194,141,000 after acquiring an additional 9,611 shares during the period. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. grew 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 valued at $35,932,000 after purchasing an additional 2,931 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 15.6% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after acquiring an additional 138,842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 71,862 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $37,841,000 after purchasing an additional 1,194 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MA. DZ Bank raised Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $620.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $635.00 price target (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Macquarie upped their price objective on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $607.96.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock traded down $2.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $533.26. 2,005,905 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,622,724. 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 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $582.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $486.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The business's 50-day moving average is $534.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $529.64.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard's payout ratio is 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.