Triangle Securities Wealth Management Reduces Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Triangle Securities Wealth Management decreased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,393 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 48 shares during the quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MA. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd lifted its position in Mastercard by 2.3% during the third quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,385,383,000 after purchasing an additional 62,891 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,325,353,000 after buying an additional 337,905 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $194,141,000 after buying an additional 9,611 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its holdings 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 worth $410,813,000 after acquiring an additional 37,486 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased 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 acquiring an additional 100,550 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.4 %

MA opened at $525.22 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $482.06 billion, a PE ratio of 39.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $524.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $494.24. 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 52 week low of $427.45 and a 52 week high of $537.70.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on MA shares. Seaport Res Ptn cut Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, 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. Four 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.63.

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.