Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 434,783 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MAFree Report) by 69.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 194,421 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 434,783 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $102,376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 62,891 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 337,905 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its holdings in Mastercard by 4.7% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,474,151,000 after acquiring an additional 100,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its position in Mastercard by 2.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 9,611 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $508.49 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $425.48 and a fifty-two week high of $537.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $524.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $493.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $466.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.46, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MAGet Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $3.39 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup lifted their price target on Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $572.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 price target (up from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, November 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $566.63.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on MA

Mastercard Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Mastercard (NYSE:MA)

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