Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 1,204 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 279,241 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,204 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 1.3% of Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $158,835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Centerpoint Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $660,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. AlTi Global Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% during the third quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 10,106 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,746,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.4% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 29,599 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $16,850,000 after buying an additional 1,260 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% in the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 11,789 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,706,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 8.2% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 52,985 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,138,000 after buying an additional 4,031 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $535.49 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $480.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $555.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $564.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $465.59 and a 1-year high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced 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. Mastercard had a return on equity of 203.92% and a net margin of 45.65%.The business had revenue of $8.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.82 EPS. Mastercard’s revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th were paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 21.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on MA shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $690.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Compass Point upgraded Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $620.00 to $735.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $739.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price target 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.