Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Position Increased by Foster Group Inc.

Foster Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,003 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC now owns 551 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Counsel LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Counsel LLC now owns 14,491 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,631,000 after buying an additional 1,347 shares during the period. SteelPeak Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 5,173 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,724,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,670 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,459,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the period. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 2,315 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,219,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.0 %

Mastercard stock opened at $547.61 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $525.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $498.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $551.55. The company has a market capitalization of $502.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. Mastercard’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $567.29.

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.