Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Acquires 264,094 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 15.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,940,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 264,094 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 0.8% of Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned about 0.21% of Mastercard worth $1,021,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. 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 buying an additional 138,842 shares during the period. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 16.9% during the third quarter. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,904 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $940,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 18,112 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,944,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,834 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $905,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, L.M. Kohn & Company lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 10,120 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,997,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MA shares. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related 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 value 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 approximately $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $540.57 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23. The company has a market capitalization of $492.84 billion, a PE ratio of 38.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $550.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $526.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.