Ownership Capital B.V. Has $225.99 Million Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Ownership Capital B.V. lowered its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 19.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 429,170 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 104,751 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 8.3% of Ownership Capital B.V.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Ownership Capital B.V.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $225,988,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $925,662,000 after acquiring an additional 241,297 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 5.8% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 563 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 17.3% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,467 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,721 shares during the last quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd now owns 395,189 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $195,144,000 after purchasing an additional 63,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet North America Advisors SA increased its position in Mastercard by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA now owns 15,488 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,648,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MA. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 target price (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $568.97 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $576.94. The firm has a market cap of $522.22 billion, a PE ratio of 40.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $537.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $512.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.