Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Increases Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 21.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 141,308 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 25,100 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 0.5% of Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $80,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Robbins Farley boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 45.2% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 61 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $537.69 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $482.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.55, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.83. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $554.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $563.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.52. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.65% and a return on equity of 203.92%. The company had revenue of $8.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 21.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MA. Compass Point upgraded Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $620.00 to $735.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Daiwa America raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $685.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $669.27.

About Mastercard

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.