Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Boosts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 13.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 749,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 87,278 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 0.7% of Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $394,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 32,304 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,010,000 after purchasing an additional 4,377 shares during the period. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. now owns 5,223 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,750,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 1,003 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC now owns 551 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Investment Counsel LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Counsel LLC now owns 14,491 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,631,000 after buying an additional 1,347 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $547.61 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $525.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $499.45. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $551.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $502.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 23.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho increased their target price on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Mastercard from $575.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $567.29.

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.