Baird Financial Group Inc. Has $285.32 Million Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 541,847 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,601 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.06% of Mastercard worth $285,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,022,224,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 79,739.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $818,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,553,329 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew 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 worth $4,817,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $617,303,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:MA traded up $7.12 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $566.11. 2,493,698 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,608,299. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $532.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $532.12. The firm has a market cap of $516.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.76, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $582.23. 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 (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.31 earnings per share. Mastercard's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard's payout ratio is 21.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MA. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group dropped their target price on Mastercard from $660.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Six equities research 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 an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $606.25.

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.