Northern Trust Corp Grows Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 15.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,207,787 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 0.7% of Northern Trust Corp's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.00% of Mastercard worth $4,817,684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,179,138 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $40,640,219,000 after purchasing an additional 377,302 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 4.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 912,856 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,657,792 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $9,800,202,000 after acquiring an additional 282,739 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,022,224,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Mastercard by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,760,740 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $5,139,713,000 after acquiring an additional 817,836 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Macquarie increased their target price on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $620.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 price target on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $607.96.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of MA traded up $7.90 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $547.58. 3,781,207 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,628,298. The company has a market cap of $499.23 billion, a PE ratio of 39.42, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23. The firm's 50 day moving average is $532.68 and its 200-day moving average is $530.73.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, 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, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

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.