CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Raises Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in Mastercard (NYSE:MA) by 2.1% in Q4, owning 987,403 shares valued at approximately $520 million. Other institutional investors also raised their positions. CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares, reducing his ownership by 15.67%. Analysts have raised price targets for Mastercard, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target of $607.96. Mastercard shares opened at $513.71, reflecting a 0.7% decline.

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 987,403 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 19,841 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 0.9% of CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.11% of Mastercard worth $520,236,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its position in Mastercard by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $194,141,000 after acquiring an additional 9,611 shares in the last quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,237 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $35,932,000 after buying an additional 2,931 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Mastercard by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,325,353,000 after buying an additional 337,905 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard by 4.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after buying an additional 138,842 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 71,862 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $37,841,000 after acquiring an additional 1,194 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were 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. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MarketBeat Week in Review – 02/03 - 02/07

MA has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $640.00 price target (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $607.96.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Mastercard

Mastercard Stock Down 0.7 %

Visa and Mastercard Remain Strong Plays as Consumers Keep Swiping

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $513.71 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $539.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $528.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.23. The stock has a market cap of $468.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Mastercard's payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Raises Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Insider Buying and Selling

Analyst Ratings Changes

Mastercard Stock Down 0.7 %

Mastercard Announces Dividend

Mastercard Profile

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Should You Invest $1,000 in Mastercard Right Now?