Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Has $39.65 Million Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co trimmed its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 75,292 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 3,612 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 0.8% of Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $39,647,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position 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. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,540,000. Hardy Reed LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 4,992 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,465,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 16.0% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 26,538 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $13,104,000 after purchasing an additional 3,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 36.2% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 9,783 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,831,000 after acquiring an additional 2,601 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % 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. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Macquarie upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price target (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $549.13 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $500.64 billion, a PE ratio of 39.53, a P/E/G 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 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 50-day simple moving average of $549.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $526.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

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.