Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stake Boosted by First Horizon Advisors Inc.

First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,256 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,768,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd lifted its stake in Mastercard by 2.3% in the third quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,385,383,000 after buying an additional 62,891 shares during the last quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,237 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $35,932,000 after acquiring an additional 2,931 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its position in Mastercard by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $194,141,000 after purchasing an additional 9,611 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Mastercard by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,325,353,000 after purchasing an additional 337,905 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,474,151,000 after purchasing an additional 100,550 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE MA opened at $557.44 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company has a market cap of $508.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.13, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $538.98 and a 200-day moving average of $514.23. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

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.