Wedbush Securities Inc. Purchases 1,813 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,926 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,813 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 0.5% of Wedbush Securities Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Wedbush Securities Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $13,125,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,385,383,000 after buying an additional 62,891 shares during the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its position in Mastercard by 2.7% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 4.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,931 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Mastercard by 15.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 337,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,497,160,000 after purchasing an additional 138,842 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Mastercard from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie increased 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. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $635.00 price objective (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $607.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm's 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock traded down $1.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $477.94. 1,377,388 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,584,293. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $582.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The business has a fifty day moving average of $546.87 and a 200 day moving average of $527.99. The company has a market capitalization of $435.74 billion, a PE ratio of 34.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.