Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Has $2.37 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,500 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 753 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% in the third quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,385,383,000 after buying an additional 62,891 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $194,141,000 after acquiring an additional 9,611 shares during the last quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,237 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,932,000 after acquiring an additional 2,931 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,325,353,000 after acquiring an additional 337,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,474,151,000 after purchasing an additional 100,550 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Macquarie boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $546.98 on Friday. 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $545.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $520.41. The company has a market cap of $498.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.38, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.