BDF Gestion Lowers Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

BDF Gestion lowered its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,204 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 2,885 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 1.1% of BDF Gestion's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. BDF Gestion's holdings in Mastercard were worth $11,692,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth about $54,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Trading Up 2.9 %

Mastercard stock traded up $16.01 during trading on Thursday, reaching $564.81. 6,002,898 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,783,383. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $526.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $499.80. The company has a market capitalization of $518.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.72, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. This is an increase from Mastercard's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $575.00 to $591.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Oppenheimer lowered 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. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $567.29.

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.