Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 141,042 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,902 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 3.1% of Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $74,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,288,912 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $17,425,665,000 after buying an additional 257,312 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after purchasing an additional 700,769 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,043,972,000 after purchasing an additional 453,773 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 4.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,800,836,000 after acquiring an additional 304,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 1.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,308,684 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,115,228,000 after buying an additional 64,456 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE:MA opened at $557.44 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $508.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $576.94. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $538.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $514.23.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a stock 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 repurchase 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 price target (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

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.