Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Jensen Investment Management Inc.

Jensen Investment Management Inc. lessened its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 941,593 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 12,981 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 4.5% of Jensen Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Jensen Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $495,815,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 483.3% in the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MA. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie raised their price objective on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of MA opened at $527.87 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $481.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.00, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $545.38 and a 200-day moving average of $523.14.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Company Profile

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.