Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is Cryder Capital Partners LLP’s 9th Largest Position

Cryder Capital Partners LLP decreased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 14.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 165,431 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 27,208 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 6.3% of Cryder Capital Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Cryder Capital Partners LLP’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $87,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 51.7% during the third 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 last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after purchasing an additional 700,769 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,043,972,000 after purchasing an additional 453,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 52.8% during the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $573,017,000 after purchasing an additional 409,334 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $562.55 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a market cap of $516.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $576.94. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $531.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $505.53.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a $0.76 dividend. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. Mizuho lifted their target price on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 target price (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $603.08.

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.