Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Acquired by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. raised its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 24.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 515,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 102,714 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 1.6% of Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $271,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MA. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 483.3% in the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Macquarie raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.7 %

MA stock opened at $558.81 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23. The company has a market cap of $509.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $544.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $519.64.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

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

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.