Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by XXEC Inc.

XXEC Inc. lowered its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,022 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,938 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 10.0% of XXEC Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. XXEC Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $10,288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vulcan Value Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% in the third quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC now owns 466,222 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $265,233,000 after acquiring an additional 28,331 shares in the last quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $1,113,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 229,299 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $130,902,000 after purchasing an additional 9,795 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Mastercard by 396.3% during the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 46,145 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,343,000 after purchasing an additional 36,848 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan increased its holdings in Mastercard by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 65,414 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $37,344,000 after purchasing an additional 3,768 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 price objective on Mastercard in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $679.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $605.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $561.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $656.04.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $490.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $498.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $521.76. The firm has a market cap of $433.60 billion, a PE ratio of 28.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.74. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $464.52 and a 12-month high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.73 EPS. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 20.14%.

Mastercard Company Profile

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.