Canoe Financial LP Boosts Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Canoe Financial LP grew its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 580.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 353,231 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 301,285 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 2.7% of Canoe Financial LP’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Canoe Financial LP’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $186,001,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 31.1% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 37,590 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $16,583,000 after buying an additional 8,911 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 1.9% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,517 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,875,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 5.3% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 63,616 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $28,065,000 after acquiring an additional 3,218 shares during the period. GM Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 1.4% during the second quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,194,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.7% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,327,168 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,908,973,000 after acquiring an additional 113,238 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $525.22 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $524.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $493.64. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $427.45 and a fifty-two week high of $537.70. The company has a market capitalization of $482.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan 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 reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $566.63.

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.