Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. Purchases Shares of 17,350 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. purchased a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 17,350 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,136,000. Mastercard comprises about 0.9% of Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 51.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,846,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965,782 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 79,739.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $818,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,553,329 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,545,139,000 after acquiring an additional 700,769 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,043,972,000 after acquiring an additional 453,773 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $546.98 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $545.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $520.41. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.23. The company has a market capitalization of $498.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.38, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

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

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MA. DZ Bank raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 price objective (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

About Mastercard

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.