Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Reduces Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC decreased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 450,469 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 12,465 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 0.7% of Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $237,203,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Campbell Wealth Management increased its stake in Mastercard by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Campbell Wealth Management now owns 868 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $457,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth about $1,434,000. Pictet North America Advisors SA increased its stake in Mastercard by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA now owns 15,823 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,332,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA increased its stake in Mastercard by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 920,984 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $484,963,000 after acquiring an additional 5,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 16,523 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,701,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MA shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho increased their price objective on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE MA opened at $566.02 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $576.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $533.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $508.28. The stock has a market cap of $519.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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.