FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co Sells 192 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co lessened its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,977 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 192 shares during the period. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $925,662,000 after buying an additional 241,297 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 6,417 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,169,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.9% during the third quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 3,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,736,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,107 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,624,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Strategies LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 4.5% in the third quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 533 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price target (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $560.86 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $541.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $516.03. The company has a market capitalization of $511.34 billion, a PE ratio of 40.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $576.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.