Magellan Asset Management Ltd Has $393.43 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Magellan Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 747,164 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 69,457 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 4.3% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $393,434,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $1,123,000. Pitcairn Co. raised its position in Mastercard by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 16,544 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,712,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Mastercard by 533.6% in the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 10,435 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,495,000 after purchasing an additional 8,788 shares during the last quarter. Grant Private Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $338,000. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,061 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,140,000 after buying an additional 548 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed 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. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 value of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA opened at $547.62 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $551.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $528.12. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23. 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 company has a market cap of $499.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.43, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.