Egerton Capital UK LLP Trims Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Egerton Capital UK LLP reduced its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 38.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 388,726 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 245,978 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 2.4% of Egerton Capital UK LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Egerton Capital UK LLP’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $204,691,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $925,662,000 after acquiring an additional 241,297 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 4.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after acquiring an additional 138,842 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 77.4% in the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 1,783 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $880,000 after buying an additional 778 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 32.5% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 853 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 17.8% during the third quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,377 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,161,000 after buying an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MA shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price target (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price objective (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of MA opened at $526.11 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $479.66 billion, a PE ratio of 37.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $545.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $522.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding 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 usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

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.