Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stock Position Boosted by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. lifted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 24.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 515,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 102,714 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 1.6% of Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Candriam S.C.A. owned approximately 0.06% of Mastercard worth $271,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $925,662,000 after acquiring an additional 241,297 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 39.6% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,474 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. United Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 68.8% in the third quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 854 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $422,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at $231,000. Finally, Tobias Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth $200,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 target price (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $558.81 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $582.23. The stock has a market cap of $509.47 billion, a PE ratio of 40.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $544.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $519.64.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

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