Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys Shares of 257,291 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 257,291 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $135,688,000. Mastercard makes up about 0.8% of Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MA. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,179,138 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,640,219,000 after buying an additional 377,302 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,657,792 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,800,202,000 after purchasing an additional 282,739 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,022,224,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,760,740 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,139,713,000 after purchasing an additional 817,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,714,073 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,061,998,000 after buying an additional 212,259 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays raised their price target on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Macquarie raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the business’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 directly owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 7.7 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $489.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $582.23. The business has a 50-day moving average of $550.92 and a 200-day moving average of $528.08. The company has a market capitalization of $446.68 billion, a PE ratio of 35.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted 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 analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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.