Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Position Trimmed by NS Partners Ltd

NS Partners Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 108,875 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,821 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 2.4% of NS Partners Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. NS Partners Ltd’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $57,330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Swedbank AB grew its stake in Mastercard by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $925,662,000 after acquiring an additional 241,297 shares in the last quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC now owns 767 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after buying an additional 138,842 shares during the last quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $582,000. Finally, TFB Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $757,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MA. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of MA opened at $546.98 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $582.23. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $545.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $520.41. 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 market capitalization of $498.68 billion, a PE ratio of 39.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. As a group, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors 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 $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

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.