Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. Cuts Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• IMS Investment Management cut its stake in Mastercard by 30.3% in Q4, selling 2,975 shares and retaining 6,847 shares worth about $3.91 million per its SEC filing.
• Mastercard beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $4.76 (consensus $4.24) and revenue of $8.81 billion, up 17.5% year-over-year, while reporting a 203.92% ROE and a 45.65% net margin.
• Institutional ownership is high at 97.28%; analysts are largely bullish (consensus "Buy" with a $664.40 average price target) and the company declared a $0.87 quarterly dividend (0.7% yield).

Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 30.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,847 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 2,975 shares during the period. Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,909,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Vulcan Value Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC now owns 466,222 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $265,233,000 after buying an additional 28,331 shares during the period. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 153.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,856 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,730 shares during the period. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,113,000. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.5% during the third quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 309,192 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $175,872,000 after purchasing an additional 4,700 shares during the period. Finally, Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 88.9% during the third quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 15,335 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $8,723,000 after purchasing an additional 7,215 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $493.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $516.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $544.97. The firm has a market cap of $440.15 billion, a PE ratio of 29.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.83.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $8.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.80 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 203.92% and a net margin of 45.65%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $665.00 to $678.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $739.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Mastercard from $685.00 to $655.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Mastercard from $730.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, March 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $664.40.

Mastercard 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.

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