Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. Increases Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 338.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 860 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $453,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $6,022,224,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 79,739.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $818,962,000 after buying an additional 1,553,329 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,207,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $617,303,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $46,692,629.36. The trade was 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 Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on MA shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group cut their target price on Mastercard from $660.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. 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 on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $606.25.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock traded up $4.65 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $563.64. 903,483 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,864,773. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $532.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $532.12. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $582.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company has a market cap of $513.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.60, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.31 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.32%.

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.