Investidor Profissional Gestao de Recursos Ltda. Cuts Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Investidor Profissional Gestao de Recursos Ltda. reduced its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 40.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,999 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 8,700 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 4.0% of Investidor Profissional Gestao de Recursos Ltda.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Investidor Profissional Gestao de Recursos Ltda.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,845,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% during the third 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 purchasing an additional 138,842 shares during the period. Sora Investors LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sora Investors LLC now owns 35,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,283,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 3.2% in the third quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 19,020 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,392,000 after acquiring an additional 588 shares in the last quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 62,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 21.8% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,917 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,835,000 after purchasing an additional 3,562 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Trading Down 7.7 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $489.94 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $550.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $528.08. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month 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 firm has a market cap of $446.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction 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 represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Mastercard

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.