National Bank of Canada FI Raises Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 787,538 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,066 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $449,582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vulcan Value Partners LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 6.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,113,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 229,299 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $130,902,000 after purchasing an additional 9,795 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its position in Mastercard by 396.3% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 46,145 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,343,000 after purchasing an additional 36,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marble Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,328,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $501.00 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $499.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $522.78. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $464.52 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $442.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.73 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Mastercard from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Mastercard from $730.00 to $735.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Dbs Bank raised Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 price objective on Mastercard in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $656.04.

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.