Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc Has $7.78 Million Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc lessened its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,774 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,025 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 4.0% of Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,780,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 80,661 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $35,584,000 after purchasing an additional 3,473 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Mastercard by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 142,002 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $62,646,000 after buying an additional 5,158 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 15.0% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 39,540 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,444,000 after buying an additional 5,160 shares in the last quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.4% during the second quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC now owns 666 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.7% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 185,523 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $81,845,000 after acquiring an additional 4,814 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $525.22 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $427.45 and a twelve month high of $537.70. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $524.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $494.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $482.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.39 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 19.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MA. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $566.63.

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.