American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 581,697 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,079,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 581,697 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 1.5% of American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,674,932,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Mastercard by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $925,662,000 after buying an additional 241,297 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,497,160,000 after purchasing an additional 138,842 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its stake in Mastercard by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 11,152 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,507,000 after purchasing an additional 1,464 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $272,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 86,952 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $42,937,000 after purchasing an additional 6,291 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other 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 transaction 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 $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 target price (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.2 %

MA stock opened at $535.14 on Friday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $547.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $524.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23. The company has a market cap of $487.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced 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 usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

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.