Baillie Gifford & Co. Has $946.74 Million Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Baillie Gifford & Co. trimmed its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,797,938 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 263,568 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned 0.20% of Mastercard worth $946,740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth $54,000. Raelipskie Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 120.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth $55,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MA. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $564.77 on Monday. 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 capitalization of $518.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day moving average of $535.49 and a 200-day moving average of $509.98.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership 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.