Artemis Investment Management LLP Has $5.44 Million Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,329 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,061 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,439,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter worth $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp increased their price target on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.63.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.4 %

Mastercard stock opened at $525.22 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $427.45 and a twelve month high of $537.70. The stock has a market cap of $482.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $524.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $494.59. 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 (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.39 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

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

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