BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Buys 22,080 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 293,652 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 22,080 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 1.5% of BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $167,032,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Robbins Farley lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 50.0% in the third quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 54 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 45.2% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 61 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of MA stock opened at $552.82 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $465.59 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $555.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $564.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $496.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $8.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.80 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 203.92% and a net margin of 45.65%.Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.82 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. This is a positive change 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%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MA. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Citigroup raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Macquarie upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $685.00 to $655.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $669.18.

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.