Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Position Raised by Tredje AP fonden

Key Points

• Tredje AP fonden increased its stake in Mastercard by 44.4%, acquiring an additional 124,424 shares, making it the fund's 8th largest position with a total worth of $221.7 million.
• Analysts have set varying price targets for Mastercard, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $612.90.
• Mastercard recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, reflecting a 0.54% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 21.32%.

Tredje AP fonden increased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 44.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 404,391 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 124,424 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 2.1% of Tredje AP fonden's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Tredje AP fonden's holdings in Mastercard were worth $221,655,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 912,856 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 282,739 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Mastercard by 15.2% in the 4th 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 during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 65,631.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,508,636,000 after purchasing an additional 8,213,123 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 7,610,333 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,007,373,000 after purchasing an additional 71,874 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MA. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group raised their price target on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Macquarie decreased their price target on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $615.33.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.2%

MA traded down $6.74 on Friday, hitting $559.73. The company had a trading volume of 3,316,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,427,760. The company has a market cap of $510.31 billion, a PE ratio of 37.74, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $439.59 and a 12-month high of $594.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $564.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $551.39.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.50 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is 21.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.05, for a total transaction of $8,220,537.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at $34,196,757.55. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total value of $549,372.74. Following the transaction, the insider owned 25,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,630,844.40. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,753 shares of company stock worth $20,351,084 over the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard 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.