Brooklyn Investment Group Boosts Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,599 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 1.0% of Brooklyn Investment Group’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Brooklyn Investment Group’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,288,912 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,425,665,000 after buying an additional 257,312 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 3.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 700,769 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 453,773 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after purchasing an additional 8,035,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 4.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,800,836,000 after buying an additional 304,293 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.4 %

Mastercard stock opened at $525.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $482.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $427.45 and a 52 week high of $537.70. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $524.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $493.64. 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 (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.39 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.97%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, November 25th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $572.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, November 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $566.63.

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.