Rit Capital Partners PLC reduced its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 33.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 45,100 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 5.7% of Rit Capital Partners PLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Rit Capital Partners PLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $47,445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in 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 last quarter. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,904 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $940,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 18,112 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $8,944,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,834 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $905,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, L.M. Kohn & Company raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 6.8% during the third quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 10,120 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,997,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $606.11.
Get Our Latest Research Report on Mastercard
Mastercard Stock Performance
MA traded down $10.44 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $536.94. The company had a trading volume of 1,653,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,546,402. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $551.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $528.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $582.23. The stock has a market cap of $489.53 billion, a PE ratio of 38.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.
Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Mastercard Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors 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 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.
Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.
Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard
In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % 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 Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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