Sepio Capital LP Has $2.57 Million Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Sepio Capital LP cut its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,874 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 205 shares during the quarter. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% during 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 buying an additional 377,302 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 worth $9,800,202,000 after acquiring an additional 282,739 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $6,022,224,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings 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 worth $5,139,713,000 after purchasing an additional 817,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,714,073 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,061,998,000 after acquiring an additional 212,259 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MA shares. Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 target price (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 7.7 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $489.94 on Friday. 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 50 day moving average of $550.92 and a 200-day moving average of $528.26. The firm has a market cap of $446.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.27, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its 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 return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.