Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Troy Asset Management Ltd

Troy Asset Management Ltd lowered its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,259 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 11,511 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 2.2% of Troy Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Troy Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $67,011,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,385,383,000 after purchasing an additional 62,891 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its position in Mastercard by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $194,141,000 after buying an additional 9,611 shares during the period. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,237 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,932,000 after buying an additional 2,931 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,325,353,000 after acquiring an additional 337,905 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,497,160,000 after acquiring an additional 138,842 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

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

Mastercard Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of MA opened at $540.57 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $550.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $526.65. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $492.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MA. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup raised their price target on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

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.