Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 39,536 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 425,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 39,536 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $239,438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vulcan Value Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC now owns 466,222 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $265,233,000 after acquiring an additional 28,331 shares in the last quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 153.6% during the third quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,856 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,730 shares in the last quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,113,000. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its stake in Mastercard by 1.5% in the third quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 309,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $175,872,000 after purchasing an additional 4,700 shares during the period. Finally, Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 88.9% in the third quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 15,335 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,723,000 after purchasing an additional 7,215 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $492.79 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $519.05 and its 200 day moving average is $546.90. The stock has a market cap of $439.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.83, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $8.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.80 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.65% and a return on equity of 203.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on MA shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $665.00 to $678.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Compass Point raised shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $620.00 to $735.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial set a $611.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $667.88.

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.