Scharf Investments LLC Has $2.59 Million Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Scharf Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 334 shares during the period. Scharf Investments LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd boosted its position in Mastercard by 2.3% during the third quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,385,383,000 after purchasing an additional 62,891 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Mastercard by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,325,353,000 after acquiring an additional 337,905 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its position in Mastercard by 2.7% during 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 during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% in the third quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 831,942 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $410,813,000 after purchasing an additional 37,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,474,151,000 after purchasing an additional 100,550 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.8 %

MA opened at $555.63 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $527.58 and a 200-day moving average of $500.25. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $576.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The stock has a market cap of $509.97 billion, a PE ratio of 42.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho boosted their price target on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $595.64.

Mastercard Company 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.