Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Cozad Asset Management Inc.

Cozad Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,906 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,036 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 1.3% of Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $13,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after buying an additional 8,035,099 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $660,652,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 145.6% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,777,468 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $784,148,000 after buying an additional 1,053,616 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $259,071,000. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Mastercard by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,293,617 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,586,107,000 after buying an additional 387,317 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. William Blair upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $520.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Argus upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Compass Point began coverage on Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $540.17.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $521.13 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $498.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $468.02. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $384.30 and a 52-week high of $527.90. The firm has a market cap of $481.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.42, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.39 EPS. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.45, for a total transaction of $50,952,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 91,924,308 shares in the company, valued at $42,970,017,774.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 327,370 shares of company stock valued at $153,495,958. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.