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

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,803 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,016 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $14,471,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MA. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $660,652,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 145.6% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,777,468 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $784,148,000 after buying an additional 1,053,616 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,253,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,096,470,000 after buying an additional 742,076 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,041,685 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,974,478,000 after acquiring an additional 676,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,608,023 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,803,956,000 after acquiring an additional 605,909 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock opened at $501.22 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $465.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $359.77 and a 1 year high of $501.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $462.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $460.52.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MA. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $520.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. William Blair raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. KeyCorp increased their target price on Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Mastercard from $531.00 to $536.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Argus raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $512.08.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at $8,440,885.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at $12,423,320. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at $8,440,885.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 725,152 shares of company stock worth $334,186,128. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.