Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Has $152.83 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 290,236 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 4,607 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 1.5% of Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $152,829,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd raised its holdings in Mastercard by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,385,383,000 after purchasing an additional 62,891 shares during the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $194,141,000 after buying an additional 9,611 shares during the period. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,237 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $35,932,000 after buying an additional 2,931 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 15.6% in 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 buying an additional 337,905 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in 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 valued at $2,474,151,000 after acquiring an additional 100,550 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE MA opened at $546.98 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $545.15 and its 200-day moving average is $521.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $498.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.38, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $582.23.

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

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MA. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Four research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard 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.