Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd Sells 10,848 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd trimmed its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 50.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,848 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 10,848 shares during the period. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Napean Trading & Investment Co Singapore PTE Ltd bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $7,653,000. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC now owns 564 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $606,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twin City Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,968 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup increased their target price on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price objective (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.5 %

MA opened at $543.82 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.23. The firm has a market cap of $495.81 billion, a PE ratio of 39.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $548.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $525.42.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits 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 board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the sale, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.