Jennison Associates LLC Sells 289,255 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Jennison Associates LLC cut its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 4.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,068,418 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 289,255 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 2.3% of Jennison Associates LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.67% of Mastercard worth $3,326,221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,179,138 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $40,640,219,000 after acquiring an additional 377,302 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $11,725,627,000 after acquiring an additional 912,856 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 worth $9,800,202,000 after acquiring an additional 282,739 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,022,224,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,760,740 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,139,713,000 after acquiring an additional 817,836 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Thursday. They set a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $612.90.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA traded down $3.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $552.52. The stock had a trading volume of 2,579,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,663,399. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $594.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $567.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $548.26. The company has a market capitalization of $503.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.02.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.31 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.32%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total transaction of $3,328,555.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,636,125.55. The trade was a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the business's 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 sale, the director directly owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,753 shares of company stock worth $20,351,084 over the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.