Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. Acquires 39,803 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 179.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,944 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,803 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 1.4% of Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $34,809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $571.40 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $554.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $566.44. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $465.59 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $513.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.53, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.87.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 202.03% and a net margin of 45.28%.The company’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.89 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Mastercard from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Citigroup upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Macquarie increased their price objective on Mastercard from $655.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $665.00 price objective on Mastercard and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $654.81.

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.