Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Holdings Trimmed by Weitz Investment Management Inc.

Weitz Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 187,070 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 16,280 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 5.1% of Weitz Investment Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Weitz Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $98,505,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,385,383,000 after acquiring an additional 62,891 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $194,141,000 after purchasing an additional 9,611 shares during the last quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,237 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $35,932,000 after acquiring an additional 2,931 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,325,353,000 after purchasing an additional 337,905 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 4.8% in the 3rd 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. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Mastercard Stock Down 3.1 %

MA stock traded down $17.23 during trading on Thursday, hitting $530.15. 3,442,661 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,554,172. 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 has a market cap of $483.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23. The firm's 50 day moving average is $551.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $528.13.

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 for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note 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, KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research 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 given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $606.11.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was 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 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.