Congress Asset Management Co. Has $16.69 Million Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Congress Asset Management Co. cut its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 31,694 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 986 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $16,689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 5.8% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 205,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $101,523,000 after buying an additional 11,331 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its position in Mastercard by 14.8% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $925,662,000 after purchasing an additional 241,297 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 17.7% during the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,751 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,321,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 3.4% during the third quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 124,605 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $61,530,000 after purchasing an additional 4,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AA Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $401,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $535.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $509.98. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94. The company has a market cap of $518.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.66, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

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 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 EPS for the current year.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on MA. Barclays boosted 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. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

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.