Forsta AP Fonden Has $121.50 Million Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Forsta AP Fonden lessened its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 230,743 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 900 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 0.9% of Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $121,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nvest Financial LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $754,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 48,442 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $25,417,000 after acquiring an additional 1,672 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 749,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $394,502,000 after acquiring an additional 87,278 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 32,304 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,010,000 after acquiring an additional 4,377 shares during the period. Finally, Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. now owns 5,223 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,750,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on MA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Macquarie boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $567.29.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.0 %

Mastercard stock opened at $547.61 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $551.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $525.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $499.45. The company has a market capitalization of $502.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About Mastercard

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.