Canoe Financial LP Has $186 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Canoe Financial LP boosted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 580.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 353,231 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 301,285 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 2.7% of Canoe Financial LP's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Canoe Financial LP's holdings in Mastercard were worth $186,001,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 31.1% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 37,590 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $16,583,000 after purchasing an additional 8,911 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 1.9% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,517 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,875,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 5.3% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 63,616 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $28,065,000 after buying an additional 3,218 shares during the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 1.4% during the second quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,194,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in Mastercard by 2.7% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,327,168 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,908,973,000 after acquiring an additional 113,238 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MA. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $572.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, November 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $566.63.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock traded up $2.08 on Friday, hitting $525.22. 2,373,992 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,205,146. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $427.45 and a 12 month high of $537.70. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $524.28 and a 200 day moving average of $494.24. The stock has a market cap of $482.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.39 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is a boost from Mastercard's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program 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 reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.