Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Has $3.20 Million Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,068 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after acquiring an additional 8,035,099 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Mastercard by 51.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,846,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965,782 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,545,139,000 after purchasing an additional 700,769 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,043,972,000 after purchasing an additional 453,773 shares during the period. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 52.8% in the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $573,017,000 after purchasing an additional 409,334 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.9 %

MA opened at $563.61 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $538.41 and its 200-day moving average is $512.53. 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 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company has a market cap of $517.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.58, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 price objective (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

About Mastercard

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.