Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Acquires Shares of 107,744 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 107,744 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $56,735,000. Mastercard comprises 1.5% of Generali Asset Management SPA SGR’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MA. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $2,846,187,000 after buying an additional 1,965,782 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 79,739.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $818,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553,329 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of 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. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,899,438 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,532,541,000 after purchasing an additional 565,717 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Macquarie lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Four equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.0 %

MA stock opened at $532.66 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $485.63 billion, a PE ratio of 38.35, a PEG 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 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $545.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $523.50. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

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