Stephens Inc. AR Increases Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Stephens Inc. AR boosted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 89,887 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 620 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 0.7% of Stephens Inc. AR’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $47,332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% during the third quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,385,383,000 after acquiring an additional 62,891 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $194,141,000 after purchasing an additional 9,611 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,325,353,000 after purchasing an additional 337,905 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,474,151,000 after purchasing an additional 100,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,497,160,000 after purchasing an additional 138,842 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA opened at $562.55 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $576.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $516.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.50, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $531.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $505.09.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 price target (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 target price (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $603.08.

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.