Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Purchased by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 140,257 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Mastercard were worth $73,922,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swedbank AB boosted its position in Mastercard by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $925,662,000 after buying an additional 241,297 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after buying an additional 138,842 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 42.8% in the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 938 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $463,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,227 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,050,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, St. Louis Trust Co purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE MA opened at $530.21 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $483.40 billion, a PE ratio of 38.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $582.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $546.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $523.83.

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 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 expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group raised their price target 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. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard 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.