Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Meridiem Investment Management Ltd.

Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. cut its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 683,696 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 6,755 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 6.4% of Meridiem Investment Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $360,306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after acquiring an additional 8,035,099 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in 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 valued at $2,846,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965,782 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 700,769 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,043,972,000 after buying an additional 453,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $573,017,000 after buying an additional 409,334 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $564.77 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company has a 50-day moving average of $535.49 and a 200-day moving average of $509.98. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $576.94. The firm has a market cap of $518.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued 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 net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign 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. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup increased their target price on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.