Agur Provident & Training Funds Management Ltd. Has $8.26 Million Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Agur Provident & Training Funds Management Ltd. decreased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 21.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,680 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 4,400 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 3.2% of Agur Provident & Training Funds Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Agur Provident & Training Funds Management Ltd.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $8,256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $1,497,160,000 after buying an additional 138,842 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $1,540,000. FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at about $673,000. MayTech Global Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 17.4% during the third quarter. MayTech Global Investments LLC now owns 77,168 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $38,106,000 after purchasing an additional 11,432 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 18.6% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 430,699 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $212,679,000 after purchasing an additional 67,663 shares during 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 Mastercard stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 value of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $557.64 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $508.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $550.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $526.28. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $582.23. 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 (NYSE:MA) last released 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 return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program 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 reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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 paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 is presently 21.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.