Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Sells 80 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,354 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 80 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 0.6% of Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,819,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd boosted its stake in Mastercard by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,385,383,000 after purchasing an additional 62,891 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted 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 buying an additional 337,905 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% during the third quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 831,942 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $410,813,000 after acquiring an additional 37,486 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 2.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,474,151,000 after acquiring an additional 100,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $194,141,000 after acquiring an additional 9,611 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on MA. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 price objective (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $566.63.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock opened at $508.49 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $425.48 and a twelve month high of $537.70. The firm has a market cap of $466.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.46, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $524.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $493.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. Analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 23.00%.

About Mastercard

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.