Guinness Asset Management LTD Acquires 8,180 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Guinness Asset Management LTD grew its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 90,678 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,180 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 0.9% of Guinness Asset Management LTD's holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Guinness Asset Management LTD's holdings in Mastercard were worth $47,746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MA. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 4.5% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 80,661 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $35,584,000 after purchasing an additional 3,473 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 142,002 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $62,646,000 after purchasing an additional 5,158 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 15.0% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 39,540 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $17,444,000 after purchasing an additional 5,160 shares during the period. Kowal Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.4% in the second quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC now owns 666 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.7% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 185,523 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $81,845,000 after purchasing an additional 4,814 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MA shares. TD Cowen raised 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $566.63.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock traded up $2.08 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $525.22. The company had a trading volume of 2,373,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,205,146. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $524.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $494.92. The company has a market cap of $482.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $427.45 and a fifty-two week high of $537.70.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors 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%. This is an increase from Mastercard's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is 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.