Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 149,671 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 3,673 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 1.0% of Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $78,812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Addison Advisors LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 493 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,651,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. now owns 475 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $946,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Community Bank N.A. increased its position in Mastercard by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 2,190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,081,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price objective (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $560.86 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $511.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50 day moving average is $541.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $516.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $576.94.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

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

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.