Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Acquired by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,956,787 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,088 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 3.5% of Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned 0.21% of Mastercard worth $1,030,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Creative Planning lifted its position in Mastercard by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 205,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $101,523,000 after buying an additional 11,331 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 14.8% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $925,662,000 after purchasing an additional 241,297 shares in the last quarter. ERn Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $226,000. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 28.3% in the third quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 222 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Provident Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Provident Wealth Management LLC now owns 509 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MA shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Macquarie lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lowered their price target 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. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $566.02 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $533.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $508.28. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $576.94. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $519.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.75, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock 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 repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.76 dividend. 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 0.54%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

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.