Brown Advisory Inc. Has $1.83 Billion Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Brown Advisory Inc. lowered its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,471,069 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 212,476 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 2.3% of Brown Advisory Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Brown Advisory Inc. owned approximately 0.38% of Mastercard worth $1,827,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $40,640,219,000 after buying an additional 377,302 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $11,725,627,000 after acquiring an additional 912,856 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,657,792 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $9,800,202,000 after acquiring an additional 282,739 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,022,224,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Mastercard by 9.1% during the fourth 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 period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock traded down $1.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $559.89. 2,340,765 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,607,707. The stock's 50-day moving average is $532.24 and its 200-day moving average is $532.12. 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 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23. The stock has a market cap of $510.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.31 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, 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 directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.