Cambridge Financial Group Inc. Makes New $8.69 Million Investment in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Cambridge Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 16,499 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,688,000. Mastercard makes up approximately 3.6% of Cambridge Financial Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Intrust Bank NA boosted its stake in Mastercard by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 7,583 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,993,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC now owns 75,388 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,697,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3,338.5% during the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 24,448 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $12,874,000 after purchasing an additional 23,737 shares during the last quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $538,000. Finally, RiverFront Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,459,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Macquarie raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 target price (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $540.57 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $550.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $526.65. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $582.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $492.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.92, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Mastercard declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 repurchase 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 stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.