Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Has $48.10 Million Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 92,026 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 4,193 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 2.5% of Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $48,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,179,138 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,640,219,000 after purchasing an additional 377,302 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,288,912 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $17,425,665,000 after buying an additional 257,312 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,545,139,000 after acquiring an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,043,972,000 after acquiring an additional 453,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,800,836,000 after acquiring an additional 304,293 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MA. Macquarie lifted their target price on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE MA opened at $544.74 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $582.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $549.05 and its 200 day moving average is $525.90. The stock has a market cap of $496.64 billion, a PE ratio of 39.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

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