Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $204,000 Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Renaissance Technologies LLC cut its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 98.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 384 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 27,680 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 138,842 shares during the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank grew its stake in Mastercard by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 200 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,501 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $15,008,000 after purchasing an additional 6,456 shares during the last quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,796 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Spartan Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth about $804,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA opened at $559.89 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $510.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $582.23. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $532.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $532.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.32%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 target price (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.25.

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.