Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Voyager Global Management LP

Voyager Global Management LP reduced its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 79.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 190,000 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 1.1% of Voyager Global Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Voyager Global Management LP's holdings in Mastercard were worth $26,328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,497,160,000 after buying an additional 138,842 shares during the last quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% in the third quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 4,990 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,464,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Resource Group lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.3% during the third quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 2,276 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 18.5% during the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 4.2% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,035 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,493,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $635.00 price target (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company 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 objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Mastercard from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $607.96.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA traded up $2.16 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $536.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 780,823 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,881,986. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.23. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $533.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $530.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $489.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is 21.89%.

About Mastercard

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.