Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 377,302 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 77,179,138 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 377,302 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 0.7% of Vanguard Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Mastercard worth $40,640,219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 257,312 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,545,139,000 after buying an additional 700,769 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $9,043,972,000 after purchasing an additional 453,773 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,800,836,000 after buying an additional 304,293 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,308,684 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,115,228,000 after purchasing an additional 64,456 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MA shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock opened at $535.14 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $487.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.53, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $582.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $547.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $524.65.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.