Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Decreases Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lowered its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 18.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,219,405 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 284,113 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 1.3% of Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec's portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned about 0.13% of Mastercard worth $642,102,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm's 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 approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $635.00 price target (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $620.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $606.25.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA traded up $1.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $562.15. The stock had a trading volume of 917,614 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,871,214. 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 Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23. The company has a market capitalization of $512.51 billion, a PE ratio of 40.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $532.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $531.92.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. The business's revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.31 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

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.