Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Sells 4,448 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 394,705 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 4,448 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 0.7% of Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $210,041,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter worth $39,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter worth $54,000. Raelipskie Partnership increased its stake in Mastercard by 120.0% in the third quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at about $55,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on MA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price objective (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $566.02 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $576.94. The company has a market capitalization of $519.51 billion, a PE ratio of 40.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $533.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $508.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly 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%. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard Company 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.