Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 377,302 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 77,179,138 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 377,302 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 0.7% of Vanguard Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 8.41% of Mastercard worth $40,640,219,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 483.3% in the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock traded up $8.57 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $557.64. The company had a trading volume of 2,901,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,376,040. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $550.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $526.28. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.23. The company has a market capitalization of $508.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Remove Ads

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 forecast 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 $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Mastercard from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $640.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $606.11.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. This trade represents 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 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.