M&T Bank Corp Trims Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

M&T Bank Corp decreased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 442,429 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 18,369 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $218,472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Unigestion Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 88.5% during the 3rd quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 140,678 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $69,439,000 after acquiring an additional 66,043 shares during the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 5.9% during the third quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,419 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,120,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 10.5% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 20,088 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,907 shares during the period. Fortem Financial Group LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 6.3% in the third quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 1,482 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $732,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $1,734,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $528.03 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $416.53 and a twelve month high of $537.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $520.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $484.02. The firm has a market cap of $484.64 billion, a PE ratio of 39.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.39 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.97%.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized 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 an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on MA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $572.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $562.76.

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.