Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Holdings Decreased by New World Advisors LLC

New World Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,275 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 22 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 0.2% of New World Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. New World Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in Mastercard by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,288,912 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,425,665,000 after buying an additional 257,312 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after purchasing an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,043,972,000 after purchasing an additional 453,773 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,800,836,000 after purchasing an additional 304,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,308,684 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,115,228,000 after purchasing an additional 64,456 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $557.44 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $508.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $538.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $514.23. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 21.89%.

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.