Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Increases Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 330,792 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,400 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 1.2% of Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $174,185,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 14.8% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $925,662,000 after purchasing an additional 241,297 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 6,417 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,169,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 3,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,736,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,107 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,624,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% during the third quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 533 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $560.86 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $511.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. 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 Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $576.94. The company’s fifty day moving average is $541.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $516.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued 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 net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs 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.