Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $681.07 Million Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,306,341 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 100,478 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 0.7% of Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.14% of Mastercard worth $681,074,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were 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 directly owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $549.13 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $582.23. 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 firm has a market cap of $500.64 billion, a PE ratio of 39.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $549.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $526.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MA. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price target (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Macquarie upped their target price on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.