Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stake Raised by Ossiam

Ossiam lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 962.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,463 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,478 shares during the period. Ossiam's holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 493 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,651,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. now owns 475 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Augustine Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $946,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 34,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.1 %

MA stock traded up $5.65 during trading on Thursday, reaching $535.66. 2,209,054 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,630,840. The firm has a market capitalization of $488.37 billion, a PE ratio of 38.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $535.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $529.34. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $633.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. DZ Bank raised Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $620.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $607.96.

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.