Umpqua Bank Raises Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Umpqua Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 30.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 923 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MA. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 51.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,846,187,000 after buying an additional 1,965,782 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 79,739.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $818,962,000 after buying an additional 1,553,329 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after buying an additional 700,769 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,079,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,674,932,000 after buying an additional 581,697 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $535.14 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 firm has a market capitalization of $487.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.53, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $547.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $524.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized 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 reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MA. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.