Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is Nordea Investment Management AB’s 7th Largest Position

Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 15.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 337,905 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 1.4% of Nordea Investment Management AB’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Nordea Investment Management AB owned approximately 0.27% of Mastercard worth $1,325,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on MA shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $562.76.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $521.36 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $523.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $490.28. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $416.53 and a 1-year high of $537.70. The company has a market cap of $478.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management 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.