Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is Amica Retiree Medical Trust’s 9th Largest Position

Amica Retiree Medical Trust lessened its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,356 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 292 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 1.7% of Amica Retiree Medical Trust’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Amica Retiree Medical Trust’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd increased its holdings in Mastercard by 2.3% during the third quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,385,383,000 after buying an additional 62,891 shares during the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its stake in Mastercard by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $194,141,000 after acquiring an additional 9,611 shares in the last quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $35,932,000 after purchasing an additional 2,931 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,325,353,000 after buying an additional 337,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after acquiring an additional 138,842 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $549.13 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $549.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $526.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $582.23. The firm has a market cap of $500.64 billion, a PE ratio of 39.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated 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. Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Macquarie increased their target price on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.