National Bank of Canada FI Sells 148,885 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

National Bank of Canada FI reduced its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 20.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 589,866 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 148,885 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.06% of Mastercard worth $310,603,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $6,022,224,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 79,739.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $818,962,000 after buying an additional 1,553,329 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Mastercard by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,760,740 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,139,713,000 after purchasing an additional 817,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,079,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,674,932,000 after purchasing an additional 581,697 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.5 %

MA opened at $548.66 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $582.23. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $551.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $527.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company has a market capitalization of $500.22 billion, a PE ratio of 39.50, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

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, 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 21.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.