Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stock Holdings Decreased by Connable Office Inc.

Connable Office Inc. lowered its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,791 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 358 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 0.7% of Connable Office Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Connable Office Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 51.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,965,782 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 79,739.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $818,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553,329 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% in the 3rd 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 boosted its position 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. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 52.8% during the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $573,017,000 after buying an additional 409,334 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on MA shares. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price objective (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Macquarie upped their price objective on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $576.08 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $576.94. The company has a market cap of $525.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $542.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $517.21.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About Mastercard

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.