Railway Pension Investments Ltd Has $187.48 Million Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Railway Pension Investments Ltd lifted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 267.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 329,600 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 240,000 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 2.5% of Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $187,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,594,000 after buying an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in Mastercard by 0.7% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 484,380 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $265,498,000 after acquiring an additional 3,136 shares in the last quarter. Teewinot Capital Advisers L.L.C. acquired a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,516,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID boosted its position in Mastercard by 18.1% during the first quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 124 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,348,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $562.93 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $465.59 and a 1-year high of $601.77. The stock has a market cap of $505.51 billion, a PE ratio of 35.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $555.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $565.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.89 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is currently 19.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. 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. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $665.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Compass Point set a $620.00 price target on shares of Mastercard and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Mastercard from $690.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $657.48.

Mastercard Profile

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.