Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Increases Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,803 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,016 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $14,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MA. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 24,452 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,429,000 after purchasing an additional 3,306 shares during the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP boosted 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 purchasing an additional 5,756 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its position 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 during the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 42.0% in the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 11,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,000,000 after purchasing an additional 3,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 96.8% in the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 593,789 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $253,144,000 after purchasing an additional 292,064 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America upped their price target on Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Compass Point initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna upped their price target on Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Mastercard from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $512.08.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.07, for a total value of $50,068,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,672,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,801,697,969.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.07, for a total value of $50,068,770.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 92,672,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,801,697,969.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 725,152 shares of company stock worth $334,186,128. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $501.22 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $465.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $462.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $460.52. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $359.77 and a twelve month high of $501.74.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 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.