Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 42,871 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,225,359 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 42,871 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 0.4% of Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.47% of Mastercard worth $2,111,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 53,535.0% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 72,597,097 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $41,444,231,000 after acquiring an additional 72,461,743 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $6,705,708,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 861.6% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 4,072,210 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,324,743,000 after purchasing an additional 3,648,748 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,580,374 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,807,283,000 after purchasing an additional 997,536 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $497,311,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $543.55 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $464.52 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The stock has a market cap of $480.27 billion, a PE ratio of 31.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $503.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $515.80.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The company’s revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.73 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 20.14%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 3,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,793,880. The trade was a 5.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.73, for a total value of $1,047,276.21. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at $8,702,934.17. The trade was a 10.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,005 shares of company stock worth $3,689,976. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on MA shares. Piper Sandler began coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $597.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $561.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen cut Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $653.92.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.