New York Life Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

New York Life Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 120,140 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,232 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 0.6% of New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $68,337,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Robbins Farley raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 54 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 45.2% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 61 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $549.07 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $465.59 and a 1-year high of $601.77. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $555.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $564.33. The company has a market capitalization of $493.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.24, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.83.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $8.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.80 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 203.92% and a net margin of 45.65%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.82 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Stockholders 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 dividend 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 21.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Mastercard from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Citigroup raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Daiwa America raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Truist Financial set a $609.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $669.18.

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.