By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA – Free Report) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,708 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $21,819,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Mastercard by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,288,912 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,425,665,000 after buying an additional 257,312 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 2.5% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,800,836,000 after purchasing an additional 304,293 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Mastercard Stock Performance
NYSE MA opened at $547.53 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $547.99. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $524.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $497.91. The firm has a market cap of $502.53 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 – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.39 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
Mastercard Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 23.00%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Macquarie increased their price objective 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. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp increased their price target on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $567.29.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on MA
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.
See Also
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