Marathon Asset Management Ltd Has $41.47 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Marathon Asset Management Ltd lessened its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 23.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 72,897 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 22,333 shares during the period. Marathon Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $41,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at approximately $177,000. Calton & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $361,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $474,000. Finally, Cura Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $221,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $579.61 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $465.59 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $555.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $565.49. The company has a market capitalization of $520.49 billion, a PE ratio of 37.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.87.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.28% and a return on equity of 202.03%. The company had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.89 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $638.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $665.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $713.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $657.48.

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.