Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Grows Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 749,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 87,278 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 0.7% of Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned 0.08% of Mastercard worth $394,502,000 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. Invst LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 14.0% during the second quarter. Invst LLC now owns 829 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the second quarter worth about $147,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 3.7% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,355 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,215,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 9.7% during the second quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 386 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 33.0% during the second quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $584,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $547.61 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The business’s 50 day moving average is $525.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $499.45. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $551.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $502.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.42, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Macquarie raised their price objective on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $567.29.

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.