Axa S.A. Reduces Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

AXA S.A. lessened its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 20.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 247,785 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 63,340 shares during the period. AXA S.A.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $130,476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,022,224,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 79,739.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $818,962,000 after buying an additional 1,553,329 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,817,684,000 after buying an additional 1,207,787 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $617,303,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $635.00 target price (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $606.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock traded up $7.12 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $566.11. The stock had a trading volume of 2,493,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,607,251. The stock's 50 day moving average is $532.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $532.12. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23. The stock has a market cap of $516.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.31 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.32%.

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.