Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Sells 29 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lessened its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,451 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 29 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,344,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd lifted its position in Mastercard by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,385,383,000 after buying an additional 62,891 shares during the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $194,141,000 after acquiring an additional 9,611 shares during the last quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,237 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,932,000 after purchasing an additional 2,931 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,325,353,000 after purchasing an additional 337,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 4.8% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were 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 approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $535.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $487.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $582.23. The company’s 50-day moving average is $547.55 and its 200 day moving average is $524.36.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

About Mastercard

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.