Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is Winslow Capital Management LLC’s 10th Largest Position

Winslow Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,371,753 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 11,451 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 2.6% of Winslow Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Winslow Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $722,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 target price (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $607.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.5 %

MA opened at $478.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $435.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $546.87 and its 200-day moving average is $527.99. 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 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

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

Mastercard 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.