Hall Laurie J Trustee Raises Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Hall Laurie J Trustee increased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,737 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 2.5% of Hall Laurie J Trustee’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Hall Laurie J Trustee’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,760,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 4.5% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 80,661 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,584,000 after buying an additional 3,473 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Mastercard by 3.8% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 142,002 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $62,646,000 after acquiring an additional 5,158 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 39,540 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $17,444,000 after purchasing an additional 5,160 shares during the last quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.4% in the second quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC now owns 666 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 185,523 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $81,845,000 after purchasing an additional 4,814 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $566.63.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $525.22 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $482.06 billion, a PE ratio of 39.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $524.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $494.59. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $427.45 and a one year high of $537.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.39 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.97%.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.