Sepio Capital LP Sells 205 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Sepio Capital LP decreased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,874 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 205 shares during the period. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,566,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $194,141,000 after acquiring an additional 9,611 shares during the last quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,237 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $35,932,000 after purchasing an additional 2,931 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,325,353,000 after purchasing an additional 337,905 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after buying an additional 138,842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 71,862 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $37,841,000 after buying an additional 1,194 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of several analyst reports. DZ Bank raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 target price (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was 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. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $489.94 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $550.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $528.26. The firm has a market cap of $446.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current 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 data 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 net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has initiated a stock 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.