BlueSpruce Investments LP Reduces Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

BlueSpruce Investments LP cut its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 20.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 586,782 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 149,985 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 7.7% of BlueSpruce Investments LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. BlueSpruce Investments LP owned 0.06% of Mastercard worth $329,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth $31,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $571.40 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $554.16 and a 200-day moving average of $566.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $513.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.87. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.28% and a return on equity of 202.03%. The business had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.89 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $669.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $665.00 target price on shares of Mastercard and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group boosted their price target on Mastercard from $690.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price target on Mastercard from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $654.81.

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.