Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $2.73 Billion Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,175,730 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 165,300 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,725,384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 241,297 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 511 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 422.7% in the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 230 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 177,896 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $91,390,000 after purchasing an additional 16,556 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $574.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $543.74 and a 200-day moving average of $518.76. The company has a market cap of $523.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. 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.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 target price (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.