Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Sells 121 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lessened its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,914 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 121 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.5 %

Mastercard stock opened at $543.82 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $548.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $525.42. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company has a market cap of $495.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of several analyst reports. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report 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 on the stock 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

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.