GLOBALT Investments LLC GA Decreases Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA lessened its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,685 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 170 shares during the period. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Mastercard by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $925,662,000 after buying an additional 241,297 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 4.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,497,160,000 after purchasing an additional 138,842 shares during the period. Adero Partners LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 9.5% in the third quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Accent Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 1.5% in the third quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 6,720 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,319,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter worth $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $527.87 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $481.27 billion, a PE ratio of 38.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $545.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $523.14. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 target price (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 target price (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays increased their target price on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Macquarie raised their price target on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.