Canoe Financial LP Decreases Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Canoe Financial LP cut its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 303,681 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 12,950 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 2.5% of Canoe Financial LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Canoe Financial LP’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $172,737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.8% in the second quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,272 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,276,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. KRS Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 2,848 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,601,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Nvest Financial LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $846,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 339 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $579.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $555.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $565.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $520.28 billion, a PE ratio of 37.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.87.

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 company had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.89 earnings per share. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 19.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Macquarie increased their price target on Mastercard from $655.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $645.00 to $654.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $665.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $657.48.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.