Guggenheim Capital LLC Has $61.43 Million Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Guggenheim Capital LLC reduced its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 116,652 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 9,600 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $61,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position 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 period. Passumpsic Savings Bank grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% during the third quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 4,990 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,464,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Resource Group lifted its position in Mastercard by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 2,276 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,035 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,493,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock traded up $4.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $517.46. 3,329,748 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,621,853. The company has a market capitalization of $471.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. 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 Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.23. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $538.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $528.64.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $640.00 target price (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $607.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.