Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Acquired by Bfsg LLC

Bfsg LLC increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,140 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% during the 3rd 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. Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $194,141,000 after buying an additional 9,611 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased 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 purchasing an additional 337,905 shares in the last quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $35,932,000 after purchasing an additional 2,931 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 2.0% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.3 %

Mastercard stock opened at $564.77 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $518.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $576.94. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $535.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $510.30.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MA. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

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.