American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 38,380 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,250,760 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,380 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 1.1% of American Century Companies Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,875,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,584,606 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $36,399,279,000 after purchasing an additional 330,872 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,041,685 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,974,478,000 after purchasing an additional 676,452 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,651,904 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,574,347,000 after purchasing an additional 43,881 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $4,595,559,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,213,930 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,029,302,000 after buying an additional 279,178 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on MA shares. Bank of America cut shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $505.00 to $480.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $530.00 to $536.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Argus upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Mastercard from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.88.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 116,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $443.63, for a total transaction of $51,461,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,998,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,256,839,378.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,028 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.06, for a total value of $4,072,169.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,585,476.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 116,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $443.63, for a total transaction of $51,461,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,998,308 shares in the company, valued at $41,256,839,378.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 943,467 shares of company stock valued at $431,056,895. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $488.01 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $458.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $460.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The company has a market capitalization of $453.66 billion, a PE ratio of 38.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $359.77 and a 12-month high of $490.00.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

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.