Stevens Capital Management LP Sells 2,658 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Stevens Capital Management LP trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 68.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,238 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,658 shares during the quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% in 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,800,836,000 after purchasing an additional 304,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% in 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 worth $3,115,228,000 after purchasing an additional 64,456 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on MA shares. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price target (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Seaport Res Ptn cut Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 price objective (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:MA opened at $535.14 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $487.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.53, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $547.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $524.95.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 21.89%.

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.