Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 62.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,457 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 24,302 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp's holdings in Mastercard were worth $34,782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MA. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $11,725,627,000 after purchasing an additional 912,856 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised 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 buying an additional 1,207,787 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 65,631.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,508,636,000 after purchasing an additional 8,213,123 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 7,610,333 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,007,373,000 after purchasing an additional 71,874 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,033,571 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,703,667,000 after purchasing an additional 724,887 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 price target for the company. Macquarie cut their price target on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $615.33.
Get Our Latest Analysis on MA
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $536,480.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 23,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,229,440. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084 in the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Mastercard Trading Up 1.8%
Shares of MA traded up $9.84 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $569.73. The stock had a trading volume of 2,984,448 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,834,384. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $519.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.03. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $564.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $552.15. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $439.59 and a 12-month high of $594.71.
Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%. The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.50 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Mastercard Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.50%.
Mastercard Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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