WINTON GROUP Ltd Acquires New Shares in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 10,158 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,349,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,306,341 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $681,074,000 after acquiring an additional 100,478 shares during the last quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund boosted its position in Mastercard by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund now owns 176,584 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $92,984,000 after purchasing an additional 3,900 shares during the period. Aviso Wealth Management grew its holdings in Mastercard by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 2,944 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,550,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the last quarter. Borer Denton & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Borer Denton & Associates Inc. now owns 3,880 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,043,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Core Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 35.3% in the fourth quarter. Core Wealth Partners LLC now owns 963 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 price target (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $549.13 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $500.64 billion, a PE ratio of 39.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company’s fifty day moving average is $549.58 and its 200-day moving average is $526.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program 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 buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, 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 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 approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.