Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stock Position Lifted by National Pension Service

National Pension Service grew its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,522,310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 16,040 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 0.8% of National Pension Service’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. National Pension Service’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $801,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 51.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,846,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965,782 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after buying an additional 700,769 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,043,972,000 after buying an additional 453,773 shares during the period. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 52.8% in the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $573,017,000 after buying an additional 409,334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 214.7% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 535,503 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $264,431,000 after acquiring an additional 365,324 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE MA opened at $564.68 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $540.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $515.72. 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 twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $576.94. The stock has a market cap of $514.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.65, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. DZ Bank raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 target price (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

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.