Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Acquired by Schroder Investment Management Group

Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,965,409 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 150,002 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 1.0% of Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,034,925,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,940,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,021,588,000 after buying an additional 264,094 shares during the period. Strategy Asset Managers LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 911 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $480,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Allianz SE purchased a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,078,000. Cambridge Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,688,000. Finally, Intrust Bank NA increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 7,583 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,993,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was 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 in the company, 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. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Down 3.0 %

MA stock opened at $540.57 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $492.84 billion, a PE ratio of 38.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a fifty day moving average of $550.58 and a 200-day moving average of $526.92. 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 one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan 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 reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

About Mastercard

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.