Capital International Investors Sells 1,283,145 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Capital International Investors trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,284,057 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,283,145 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 2.0% of Capital International Investors' portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Capital International Investors owned 2.21% of Mastercard worth $10,680,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Sarl grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 93,201 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $49,077,000 after buying an additional 8,114 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in Mastercard by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 987,403 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $520,236,000 after purchasing an additional 19,841 shares during the last quarter. Tobias Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Tobias Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 434 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,690,995 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,470,137,000 after purchasing an additional 232,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $1,540,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on MA shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $633.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. KeyCorp upped their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie boosted their price target on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $607.96.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA traded up $3.50 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $530.83. 1,172,224 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,623,210. The firm has a market capitalization of $483.96 billion, a PE ratio of 38.22, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $582.23. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $536.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $529.33. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. Research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the insider now 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 84,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Mastercard 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.