MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH Has $53.21 Million Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 101,240 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,287 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 1.7% of MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $53,207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter worth $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $55,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:MA opened at $533.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $524.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $496.23. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $537.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $489.91 billion, a PE ratio of 40.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10.

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, beating 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 firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MA shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays increased their price objective on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.