Tritonpoint Wealth LLC Lowers Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Tritonpoint Wealth LLC reduced its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,516 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 687 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 1.4% of Tritonpoint Wealth LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $15,542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% during the third quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,385,383,000 after purchasing an additional 62,891 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Mastercard by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,325,353,000 after buying an additional 337,905 shares during the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its position in Mastercard by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $194,141,000 after purchasing an additional 9,611 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its stake in Mastercard by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 831,942 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $410,813,000 after acquiring an additional 37,486 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,474,151,000 after purchasing an additional 100,550 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA traded up $5.79 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $564.90. 1,220,299 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,799,066. The company has a market cap of $518.48 billion, a PE ratio of 40.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $576.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $529.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $503.41.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is a positive change from Mastercard's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard's payout ratio is 21.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MA shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $635.00 price objective (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $603.08.

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.