Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is DF Dent & Co. Inc.’s 9th Largest Position

DF Dent & Co. Inc. trimmed its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 405,786 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 5,724 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 2.7% of DF Dent & Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. DF Dent & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $213,675,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $1,497,160,000 after purchasing an additional 138,842 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 82.0% during the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 1,294 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $639,000 after buying an additional 583 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 14,928 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,372,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 74,153 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $36,808,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Port Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Port Capital LLC now owns 109,189 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $53,918,000 after acquiring an additional 807 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. 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 firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MA. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays lifted 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. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Macquarie boosted their price target on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $547.62 on Thursday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $551.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $528.12. The company has a market cap of $499.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.43, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard 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.