Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Acquires 7,584 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,737 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,584 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 2.2% of Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $43,040,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MA. World Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 21,277 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,204,000 after acquiring an additional 2,761 shares in the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp increased its holdings in Mastercard by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 24,787 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $13,052,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,299 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,170,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 93.7% in the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 60,160 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,683,000 after purchasing an additional 29,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneAscent Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 36.4% during the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 2,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,487,000 after buying an additional 754 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Macquarie lifted their target price on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 target price (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of MA opened at $547.62 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $499.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $551.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $528.12.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

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

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.