Cumberland Partners Ltd Grows Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Cumberland Partners Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,428 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 879 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 2.3% of Cumberland Partners Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $32,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $925,662,000 after purchasing an additional 241,297 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 5.8% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 563 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 17.3% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,467 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,119,000 after buying an additional 2,721 shares during the period. Metropolis Capital Ltd increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 19.2% in the third quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd now owns 395,189 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $195,144,000 after acquiring an additional 63,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet North America Advisors SA raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA now owns 15,488 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,648,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $568.97 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $537.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $512.17. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $576.94. The company has a market cap of $522.22 billion, a PE ratio of 40.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 target price (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their price target on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Macquarie increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard 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.