Trust Point Inc. Boosts Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Trust Point Inc. grew its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,663 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 452 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $564.48 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $576.94. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $528.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $501.78. The firm has a market cap of $518.10 billion, a PE ratio of 40.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $598.60.

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.