Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Bought by MRA Advisory Group

MRA Advisory Group grew its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,482 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 0.7% of MRA Advisory Group’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. MRA Advisory Group’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MA. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,971,020,000 after buying an additional 8,035,099 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Mastercard by 51.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,846,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965,782 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after acquiring an additional 700,769 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 2.5% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 453,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 52.8% in the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $573,017,000 after purchasing an additional 409,334 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $505.27 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $524.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $492.75. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $425.48 and a fifty-two week high of $537.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $463.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.22, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS 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 net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho raised their target price on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America upped their price objective on Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Three equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.13.

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.