Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s 10th Largest Position

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,485,580 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 65,816 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 1.4% of Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned 0.16% of Mastercard worth $782,262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 493 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,651,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. now owns 475 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Augustine Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $946,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MA. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $633.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.25.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of MA opened at $567.41 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $582.23. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $531.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $532.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $517.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.85, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.31 earnings per share. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders 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 dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.