Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Purchased by Sunflower Bank N.A.

Sunflower Bank N.A. raised its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,728 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $910,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd increased its holdings in Mastercard by 2.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 62,891 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 15.6% during 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 buying an additional 337,905 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% in the third 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 last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,474,151,000 after buying an additional 100,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard by 4.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,497,160,000 after acquiring an additional 138,842 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 target price (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.13.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $505.27. The stock had a trading volume of 2,885,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,533,762. The stock has a market cap of $463.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $425.48 and a 12-month high of $537.70. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $524.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $492.31.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. 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 is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.