Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 47,910 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,497,169 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 47,910 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 1.1% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $638,530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MA. Advisory Alpha LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at about $236,000. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at about $202,000. Solidarity Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 23.6% during the third quarter. Solidarity Wealth LLC now owns 18,629 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,375,000 after purchasing an additional 3,562 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 8.1% during the third quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 7,126 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,821,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 82.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 7,723 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,058,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.06, for a total transaction of $6,230,132.52. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,388,649.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.78, for a total value of $50,443,020.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,996,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,887,951,416.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.06, for a total transaction of $6,230,132.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at $21,388,649.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 366,630 shares of company stock worth $168,746,490. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock traded up $0.31 on Friday, reaching $462.42. 1,963,273 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,212,406. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $357.85 and a 52 week high of $490.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $471.35 and a 200 day moving average of $436.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $431.39 billion, a PE ratio of 39.09, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. The firm had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 22.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.23.

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.