NFJ Investment Group LLC Cuts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

NFJ Investment Group LLC lowered its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,469 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 5,524 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $24,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,179,138 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $40,640,219,000 after acquiring an additional 377,302 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $11,725,627,000 after purchasing an additional 912,856 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,657,792 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $9,800,202,000 after buying an additional 282,739 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,022,224,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Mastercard by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,760,740 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $5,139,713,000 after acquiring an additional 817,836 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MA shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup raised their price target on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Six equities research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $607.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard 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 completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE MA traded up $4.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $517.46. 3,329,748 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,624,648. 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 company has a market capitalization of $471.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $537.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $529.02. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Mastercard Company 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.