Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stock Holdings Decreased by Activest Wealth Management

Activest Wealth Management decreased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 321 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 20 shares during the quarter. Activest Wealth Management’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MA. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 120,665.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after purchasing an additional 8,035,099 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Mastercard by 51.7% in the third 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. 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 valued at $10,545,139,000 after acquiring an additional 700,769 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 453,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $573,017,000 after acquiring an additional 409,334 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $562.55 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $516.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.50, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $531.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $505.53.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (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, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on MA. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie increased 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.