Mechanics Bank Trust Department Has $2.78 Million Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department increased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,278 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,779,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,385,383,000 after purchasing an additional 62,891 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,325,353,000 after purchasing an additional 337,905 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its stake in Mastercard by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $194,141,000 after purchasing an additional 9,611 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its holdings in Mastercard by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 831,942 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $410,813,000 after buying an additional 37,486 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 2.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,474,151,000 after purchasing an additional 100,550 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:MA opened at $525.22 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $427.45 and a 12 month high of $537.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $482.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.73, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $524.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $494.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The business 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%. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. Analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.97%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, November 25th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $572.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $566.63.

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.