Assetmark Inc. Increases Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 28.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 165,401 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 36,450 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $87,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 51.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,846,187,000 after buying an additional 1,965,782 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 79,739.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $818,962,000 after buying an additional 1,553,329 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 3.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $10,545,139,000 after acquiring an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $573,017,000 after purchasing an additional 409,334 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on MA. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Mastercard from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $640.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp upped their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE MA traded up $3.74 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $558.81. The stock had a trading volume of 2,795,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,622,472. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $544.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $519.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23. The stock has a market cap of $509.47 billion, a PE ratio of 40.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback 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 buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.