OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Acquires 624 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 56,279 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 624 shares during the quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $29,668,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Brooklyn FI LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $603,000. Enhancing Capital LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $1,048,000. Xponance Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 213,276 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $112,305,000 after acquiring an additional 2,765 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $56,735,000. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 3,576 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,880,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four investment 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $530.21 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $546.16 and a 200-day moving average of $523.83. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23. The company has a market capitalization of $483.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase 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 reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.