abrdn plc Sells 87,204 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

abrdn plc trimmed its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 993,296 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 87,204 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 1.0% of abrdn plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. abrdn plc’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $522,692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MA. Trust Point Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 6,663 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,509,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,498 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 5,977 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,147,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. GDS Wealth Management increased its stake in Mastercard by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 765 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HFG Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $200,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 price objective (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $598.60.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $564.48 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94. The company has a market capitalization of $518.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $528.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $501.78.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

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