Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,692 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 5,601 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 3.4% of Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $41,963,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,971,020,000 after acquiring an additional 8,035,099 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 51.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,846,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965,782 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,545,139,000 after purchasing an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,043,972,000 after purchasing an additional 453,773 shares during the period. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 52.8% during the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $573,017,000 after purchasing an additional 409,334 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on MA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays raised their price objective on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $566.63.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA opened at $516.93 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $425.48 and a 12-month high of $537.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $524.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $493.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $474.45 billion, a PE ratio of 39.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.39 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

About Mastercard

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.