Nutshell Asset Management Ltd Buys New Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Nutshell Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 16,264 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,564,000. Mastercard comprises 5.4% of Nutshell Asset Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its position in shares of 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 worth $194,141,000 after buying an additional 9,611 shares during the period. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 337,905 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 4.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $489.94 on Friday. 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 has a market cap of $446.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $550.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $528.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

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.