Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Holdings Lifted by Copperwynd Financial LLC

Copperwynd Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,232 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MA. Swedbank AB grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 4.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after purchasing an additional 138,842 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its stake in Mastercard by 8.2% in the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 2,272 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,122,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 4.7% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,548 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,665,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co grew its stake in Mastercard by 2.5% in the third quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co now owns 4,169 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,059,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of MA opened at $527.87 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $545.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $522.44. The stock has a market cap of $481.27 billion, a PE ratio of 38.00, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on MA shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday. KeyCorp upped their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

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.