Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stock Holdings Boosted by Donaldson Capital Management LLC

Donaldson Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 19,671 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $10,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MA. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 14.8% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $925,662,000 after purchasing an additional 241,297 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 4.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,497,160,000 after purchasing an additional 138,842 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 43.3% in the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 993 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 77.4% in the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 1,783 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $880,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 32.5% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 853 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price target (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 2.0 %

Mastercard stock opened at $535.80 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $545.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $521.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $582.23. The stock has a market cap of $488.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback 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 repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.