Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.

Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. lowered its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 76.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 38,720 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 123,984 shares during the period. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $22,024,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vulcan Value Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% in the third quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC now owns 466,222 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $265,233,000 after purchasing an additional 28,331 shares during the period. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 153.6% in the third quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,856 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,730 shares during the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.5% during 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. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $8,723,000 after buying an additional 7,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Mastercard by 3,694.7% in the third quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 9,297 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,288,000 after buying an additional 9,052 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $517.69 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $538.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $556.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market cap of $461.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.83.

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. The business 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%.The business’s revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.82 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective 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. Daiwa Securities Group set a $610.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $656.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Macquarie Infrastructure boosted 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $670.61.

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.