Forsta AP Fonden Sells 900 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Forsta AP Fonden reduced its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 230,743 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 900 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 0.9% of Forsta AP Fonden’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $121,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Invst LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 829 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth $147,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 3.7% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,355 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,215,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 386 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 33.0% during the 2nd quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $547.61 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $551.55. The company has a market capitalization of $502.61 billion, a PE ratio of 41.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $525.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $499.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.39 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MA. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Macquarie increased their target price on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four 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 company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $567.29.

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.