Rathbones Group PLC Sells 2,029 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Rathbones Group PLC cut its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 553,133 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,029 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 1.4% of Rathbones Group PLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $291,263,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its position in Mastercard by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $194,141,000 after purchasing an additional 9,611 shares during the period. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,237 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,932,000 after buying an additional 2,931 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Mastercard by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,325,353,000 after acquiring an additional 337,905 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,497,160,000 after acquiring an additional 138,842 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 71,862 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $37,841,000 after purchasing an additional 1,194 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard 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 in the company, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction 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 represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $489.94 on Monday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $550.92 and its 200 day moving average is $528.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $446.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Macquarie boosted their target price on 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 assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Company 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.