Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is Franklin Resources Inc.’s 9th Largest Position

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,714,073 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 212,259 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 1.1% of Franklin Resources Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,061,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $540.57 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $550.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $527.19. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company has a market capitalization of $492.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price target (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.