Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stock Holdings Raised by APG Asset Management N.V.

APG Asset Management N.V. raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 987,123 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 135,862 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 1.0% of APG Asset Management N.V.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. APG Asset Management N.V. owned 0.11% of Mastercard worth $561,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Aprio Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,713 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,112,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% during the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,833 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,611,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 13,040 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,417,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Eley Financial Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Eley Financial Management Inc now owns 5,286 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,007,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Bank increased its position in Mastercard by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 7,652 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,353,000 after buying an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $515.92 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $460.11 billion, a PE ratio of 31.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $545.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $559.46. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $465.59 and a twelve month 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.52. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.65% and a return on equity of 203.92%. The business had revenue of $8.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Macquarie Infrastructure increased their price objective 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 raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $685.00 to $655.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut their price target on shares of Mastercard from $707.00 to $631.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $669.27.

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.