Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 24.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,551,260 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,769,879 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 0.8% of Legal & General Group Plc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.60% of Mastercard worth $2,923,127,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Polymer Capital Management US LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. Trek Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Trek Financial LLC now owns 2,539 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,337,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.3% in 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. Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,360 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,822,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Polymer Capital Management HK LTD bought a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $211,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $633.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn cut Mastercard from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $607.96.
View Our Latest Analysis on Mastercard
Mastercard Stock Performance
Mastercard stock traded up $10.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $509.66. 3,735,418 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,610,028. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $542.81 and a 200 day moving average of $528.27. The firm has a market cap of $464.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.69, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.
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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.
Mastercard Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Mastercard's payout ratio is 21.89%.
Mastercard declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Mastercard news, 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 value of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Mastercard Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
See Also
Before you consider Mastercard, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Mastercard wasn't on the list.
While Mastercard currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Enter your email address and we'll send you MarketBeat's list of ten stocks that are set to soar in Spring 2025, despite the threat of tariffs and other economic uncertainty. These ten stocks are incredibly resilient and are likely to thrive in any economic environment.
Get This Free Report
