DT Investment Partners LLC Trims Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

DT Investment Partners LLC reduced its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 16.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,468 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 292 shares during the quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $773,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 8,035,099 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in Mastercard by 51.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,846,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965,782 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after acquiring an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 2.5% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price objective (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $566.02 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $519.51 billion, a PE ratio of 40.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $533.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $508.28.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.