Westpac Banking Corp Decreases Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Westpac Banking Corp lowered its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,639 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,504 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 1.0% of Westpac Banking Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $16,859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Robbins Farley boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 50.0% in the third quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 54 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc increased its holdings in Mastercard by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 45.2% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 61 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sagard Holdings Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on MA shares. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $707.00 to $631.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $656.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 30th. HSBC raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $685.00 target price on Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Mastercard from $660.00 to $668.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $669.27.

Mastercard Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $509.86 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $547.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $560.28. The company has a market cap of $454.70 billion, a PE ratio of 30.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.83. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $465.59 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $8.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.80 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.65% and a return on equity of 203.92%. Mastercard’s revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 21.07%.

Mastercard 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.