Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Acquired by Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 36.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 100,718 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 26,878 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 1.9% of Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $53,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd increased its holdings in Mastercard by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,385,383,000 after acquiring an additional 62,891 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Mastercard by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,325,353,000 after purchasing an additional 337,905 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $194,141,000 after buying an additional 9,611 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% during the third quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 831,942 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $410,813,000 after buying an additional 37,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,474,151,000 after buying an additional 100,550 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $603.08.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock traded up $5.87 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $564.98. 1,220,299 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,799,066. The business has a 50-day moving average of $529.65 and a 200-day moving average of $503.41. 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 has a market capitalization of $518.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is an increase from Mastercard's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership 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.