Conning Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Conning Inc. trimmed its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 331 shares during the period. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,770,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 6.0% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,390 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,143,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 5.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 57,927 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $28,604,000 after buying an additional 3,089 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.1% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 832 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Private Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,780 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,829,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares during the period. Finally, Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $273,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MA shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $603.08.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA opened at $562.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $516.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $531.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $504.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. As a group, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

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

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.