Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Holdings Boosted by NEOS Investment Management LLC

NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 31.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,121 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,100 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 0.6% of NEOS Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $24,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MA. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on MA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays increased their price objective on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment 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, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $549.13 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $549.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $526.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $500.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid 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 0.55%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.