Banco Santander S.A. Has $38.33 Million Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Banco Santander S.A. trimmed its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 14.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 77,622 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 13,109 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $38,330,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 46.4% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,785 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,120,000 after purchasing an additional 4,685 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 56.1% in the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,094 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $527,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the period. Guardian Capital LP boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Guardian Capital LP now owns 66,186 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,873,000 after buying an additional 852 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 7.1% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,213,930 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,029,302,000 after buying an additional 279,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 9.7% in the first quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 941 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $453,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MA shares. William Blair raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen increased their price target on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $549.16.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $512.54 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $470.42 billion, a PE ratio of 38.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $404.32 and a 1-year high of $534.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $505.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $472.76.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 19.97%.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. The trade was a 23.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Company 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.