Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Grows Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. boosted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,385 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after buying an additional 8,035,099 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $660,652,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 145.6% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,777,468 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $784,148,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053,616 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $259,071,000. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 13.3% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,293,617 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,586,107,000 after purchasing an additional 387,317 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,423,320. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $6,114,745.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,423,320. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MA traded up $1.38 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $508.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 303,073 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,418,722. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $364.72 and a 12-month high of $518.82. The stock has a market cap of $472.93 billion, a PE ratio of 40.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company’s 50 day moving average is $491.84 and its 200 day moving average is $465.36.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. Equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. William Blair upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Mastercard from $570.00 to $593.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $525.68.

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.