Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp cut its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,639 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,504 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 1.0% of Westpac Banking Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $16,859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vulcan Value Partners LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC now owns 466,222 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $265,233,000 after purchasing an additional 28,331 shares during the last quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 153.6% in the third quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,856 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,625,000 after buying an additional 1,730 shares during the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its position in Mastercard by 1.5% during the third quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 309,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $175,872,000 after acquiring an additional 4,700 shares in the last quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 88.9% in the third quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 15,335 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,723,000 after acquiring an additional 7,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its position in Mastercard by 3,694.7% in the third quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 9,297 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,288,000 after acquiring an additional 9,052 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of MA stock opened at $509.86 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market cap of $454.70 billion, a PE ratio of 30.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $547.16 and a 200-day moving average of $560.28.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.52. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.65% and a return on equity of 203.92%. The business had revenue of $8.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.82 earnings per share. Mastercard’s revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 21.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. Daiwa Securities Group set a $610.00 price target on shares of Mastercard and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on Mastercard from $690.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. HSBC raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $685.00 target price on Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $669.27.

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.