Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stock Holdings Lifted by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 14.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 260,577 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 33,111 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 2.4% of iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $137,212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MA. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 483.3% in the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on MA. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $535.93 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $488.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $546.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $523.92. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results 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%. As a group, equities 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 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 buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.