Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is Wendell David Associates Inc.’s 2nd Largest Position

Wendell David Associates Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 120,894 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,125 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 6.3% of Wendell David Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Wendell David Associates Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $63,659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,789 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,095,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 53.4% in the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 1,043,557 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $460,376,000 after buying an additional 363,133 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd increased its stake in Mastercard by 160.0% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 19,900 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,779,000 after purchasing an additional 12,246 shares during the period. Point72 Europe London LLP boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 60.9% during the second quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 21,400 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,441,000 after purchasing an additional 8,100 shares during the period. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.3% in the second quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 34,047 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $15,020,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA opened at $527.02 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $483.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.87, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company’s 50 day moving average is $524.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $496.01. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $537.70.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MA. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $566.63.

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions.