Ninety One North America Inc. Sells 25 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Ninety One North America Inc. lessened its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,710 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 25 shares during the quarter. Ninety One North America Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $8,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,759,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $12,632,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303,477 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,843,692 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,509,328,000 after acquiring an additional 2,385,640 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,308,223,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Mastercard by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,075,358 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,593,025,000 after purchasing an additional 251,516 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 8,420,213 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,311,670,000 after purchasing an additional 318,077 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,527,976,823. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total value of $43,072.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,235 shares in the company, valued at $2,740,407.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total transaction of $97,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 41,728 shares of company stock valued at $19,479,753. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.0 %

MA stock traded down $4.46 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $455.70. 780,525 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,389,836. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $425.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.89, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $471.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $433.21. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $357.85 and a 12-month high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 22.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $504.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, February 1st. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.23.

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.