NFJ Investment Group LLC Sells 5,524 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

NFJ Investment Group LLC decreased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 47,469 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 5,524 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $24,996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% in 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 buying an additional 138,842 shares during the period. Passumpsic Savings Bank increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% during the third quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 4,990 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,464,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Resource Group lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,035 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,493,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DZ Bank raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie increased their target price on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $607.96.

Insider Activity

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

Mastercard Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $517.69 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $471.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.27, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $540.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $528.58. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $582.23.

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, 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.