Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Acquired by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 83.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,127 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,690 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,971,020,000 after buying an additional 8,035,099 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 51.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,846,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965,782 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in 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 valued at $9,043,972,000 after purchasing an additional 453,773 shares during the period. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 worth $573,017,000 after purchasing an additional 409,334 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $575.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $567.29.

Mastercard Stock Up 2.4 %

NYSE:MA traded up $13.27 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $562.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,316,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,685,401. 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 market capitalization of $515.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $526.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $499.80. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $576.94.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Mastercard's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard 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.