Martin Currie Ltd. Acquires 3,810 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Martin Currie Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 157,479 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,810 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 3.0% of Martin Currie Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Martin Currie Ltd.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $82,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MA. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in Mastercard by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,947,452 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,025,470,000 after buying an additional 24,790 shares in the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 37.6% during the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,160 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,983,000 after acquiring an additional 4,144 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,965,409 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,034,925,000 after acquiring an additional 150,002 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew 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 worth $1,021,588,000 after acquiring an additional 264,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategy Asset Managers LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 target price (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction 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 approximately $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $540.57 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $550.58 and its 200 day moving average is $526.92. The firm has a market cap of $492.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.92, a PEG 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. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend 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%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy 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 shares are undervalued.

Mastercard 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.