United Services Automobile Association Sells 133 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

United Services Automobile Association reduced its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,057 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 133 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $10,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,179,138 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,640,219,000 after acquiring an additional 377,302 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,288,912 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,425,665,000 after purchasing an additional 257,312 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after purchasing an additional 700,769 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,043,972,000 after purchasing an additional 453,773 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 4.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,800,836,000 after buying an additional 304,293 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $535.14 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $487.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.53, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $547.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $524.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Four equities 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard 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.