AIA Group Ltd Purchases 2,838 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

AIA Group Ltd increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,848 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,838 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $16,244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was 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 owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Trading Down 3.0 %

NYSE MA opened at $540.57 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $550.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $527.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a market cap 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.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on MA shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna raised their price target on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Macquarie lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

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.