Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Trims Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,716 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 23 shares during the period. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $904,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% during the third quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,385,383,000 after acquiring an additional 62,891 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its stake in Mastercard by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $194,141,000 after purchasing an additional 9,611 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Mastercard by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,325,353,000 after purchasing an additional 337,905 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,474,151,000 after purchasing an additional 100,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,497,160,000 after buying an additional 138,842 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA opened at $562.55 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $531.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $505.53. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $576.94. 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 price-to-earnings ratio of 40.50, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $603.08.

Mastercard 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.