Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Holdings Raised by Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 44.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,970 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the period. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $869,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP grew its position in Mastercard by 213.2% in the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 8,456 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,607,000 after acquiring an additional 5,756 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 6.9% in the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 41,250 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $19,865,000 after purchasing an additional 2,676 shares in the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 42.0% during the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 11,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,000,000 after buying an additional 3,469 shares during the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 96.8% during the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 593,789 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $253,144,000 after buying an additional 292,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $1,228,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at $12,423,320. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,440,885.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 474,124 shares of company stock valued at $219,855,929. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Argus raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $512.08.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $492.74 on Monday. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $466.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $461.03. The stock has a market cap of $458.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.17, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $359.77 and a twelve month high of $501.80.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 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 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.