Cozad Asset Management Inc. Has $11.22 Million Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,304 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 1.3% of Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $11,219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MA. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 43,445.1% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,936,684 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,252,525,000 after buying an additional 2,929,940 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Mastercard by 3,339.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 815,506 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $322,867,000 after buying an additional 791,799 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 1,746,342 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $691,394,000 after purchasing an additional 569,534 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,966,348 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,153,957,000 after buying an additional 515,481 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,839,088 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $728,113,000 after purchasing an additional 428,627 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MA shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.23.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MA traded down $4.12 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $452.98. 893,753 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,387,651. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $357.85 and a 52 week high of $490.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $422.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $471.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $437.01.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 22.32%.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,527,976,823. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total value of $7,632,649.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at $47,527,976,823. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 480,630 shares of company stock valued at $221,479,470 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.13% 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.