Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Rathbones Group PLC

Rathbones Group PLC lowered its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 553,133 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 2,029 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 1.4% of Rathbones Group PLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Rathbones Group PLC owned approximately 0.06% of Mastercard worth $291,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its stake 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 worth $194,141,000 after buying an additional 9,611 shares during the last quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,237 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $35,932,000 after acquiring an additional 2,931 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,325,353,000 after acquiring an additional 337,905 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after purchasing an additional 138,842 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 71,862 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $37,841,000 after purchasing an additional 1,194 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business'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 value of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of Mastercard stock traded up $10.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $509.66. 3,735,418 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,610,028. 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 firm's 50-day moving average price is $542.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $528.27. The stock has a market cap of $464.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Macquarie upped 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. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $640.00 target price (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, KeyCorp raised 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. Six 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $607.96.

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.