Seilern Investment Management Ltd Makes New $183.94 Million Investment in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Seilern Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 349,325 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $183,944,000. Mastercard accounts for about 10.5% of Seilern Investment Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter worth about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.4 %

MA stock traded up $2.08 on Monday, hitting $525.22. 2,373,992 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,205,146. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $482.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $427.45 and a twelve month high of $537.70. The business's fifty day moving average is $524.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $494.92.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm's revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in 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 usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is a positive change from Mastercard's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $572.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Macquarie boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note 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, Mastercard has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $566.63.

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.