Seascape Capital Management Reduces Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Seascape Capital Management cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,205 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 103 shares during the period. Seascape Capital Management’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,161,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MA. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 120,665.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,971,020,000 after purchasing an additional 8,035,099 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Mastercard by 51.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,846,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965,782 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,545,139,000 after purchasing an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,043,972,000 after purchasing an additional 453,773 shares during the period. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 52.8% during the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $573,017,000 after buying an additional 409,334 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Macquarie upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays increased their price objective 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.3 %

Mastercard stock opened at $564.77 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $576.94. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $535.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $509.54. The firm has a market cap of $518.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.66, 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 quick ratio of 1.29 and a current 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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are 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.