Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 145,733 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,856 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 0.9% of Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $82,894,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Nvest Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.2% in the second quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $846,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 339 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $191,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 2.2% in the third quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 841 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. Macquarie Infrastructure raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Mastercard from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on Mastercard from $707.00 to $631.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $669.18.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.5%

Mastercard stock opened at $549.07 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $493.06 billion, a PE ratio of 33.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $555.27 and a 200 day moving average of $564.33. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.52. Mastercard had a return on equity of 203.92% and a net margin of 45.65%.The business had revenue of $8.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.82 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.07%.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.