SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. Has $8.85 Million Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 31.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,801 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 7,830 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 6.1% of SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $8,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MA. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $572.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays increased their price target on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Macquarie upped their price objective on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, November 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $566.63.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA traded up $2.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $525.22. 2,373,992 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,205,146. The company has a market capitalization 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 Incorporated has a 12 month low of $427.45 and a 12 month high of $537.70. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $524.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $494.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

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

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.