Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Position Reduced by Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lessened its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,503,518 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 113,085 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 1.5% of Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $742,437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MA. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 120,665.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 51.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,846,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965,782 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew 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 valued at $784,148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,053,616 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after acquiring an additional 700,769 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $259,071,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Compass Point initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 target price (up from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $549.16.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. This trade represents a 21.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $532.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $404.32 and a fifty-two week high of $535.77. The firm has a market cap of $489.14 billion, a PE ratio of 40.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $510.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $476.15.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

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.