Anchor Investment Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Anchor Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,224 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 121 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,857,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $6,022,224,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 79,739.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $818,962,000 after buying an additional 1,553,329 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $617,303,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,725,627,000 after purchasing an additional 912,856 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price target (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Macquarie lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $607.96.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.5 %

Mastercard stock opened at $512.18 on Tuesday. 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’s 50-day moving average is $541.74 and its 200-day moving average is $528.66. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23. The company has a market cap of $466.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.87, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.