Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Bought by Barings LLC

Barings LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 607 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the quarter. Barings LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 483.3% in the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MA. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $546.98 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $545.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $520.77. The company has a market cap of $498.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $582.23.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

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.