Ameriprise Financial Inc. Lowers Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Ameriprise Financial Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,259,343 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 229,920 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 0.6% of Ameriprise Financial Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.47% of Mastercard worth $2,393,305,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,594,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 58.4% during the first quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 7,130 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,908,000 after purchasing an additional 2,630 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 12.4% during the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,199,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the period. Martin Currie Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% in the first quarter. Martin Currie Ltd. now owns 161,364 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $88,447,000 after buying an additional 3,885 shares during the period. Finally, Ethic Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 5.6% in the first quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 90,844 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $49,829,000 after purchasing an additional 4,810 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI set a $610.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday. Compass Point set a $620.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $655.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $654.81.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $571.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $513.11 billion, a PE ratio of 36.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $554.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $566.44. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. Mastercard had a return on equity of 202.03% and a net margin of 45.28%.The firm had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.89 EPS. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 22.25%.

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.