Norway Savings Bank Has $476,000 Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Norway Savings Bank reduced its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 904 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 145 shares during the quarter. Norway Savings Bank’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MA. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 120,665.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,971,020,000 after buying an additional 8,035,099 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Mastercard by 51.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,846,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965,782 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 3.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,545,139,000 after purchasing an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,043,972,000 after purchasing an additional 453,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 52.8% during the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $573,017,000 after purchasing an additional 409,334 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $512.26. 1,172,490 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,122,005. The company has a market cap of $470.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $523.65 and its 200 day moving average is $490.70. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $416.53 and a fifty-two week high of $537.70. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $562.76.

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.