Vest Financial LLC Raises Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 13.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 66,712 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,800 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $35,129,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 6.0% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,390 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,143,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 57,927 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $28,604,000 after buying an additional 3,089 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 832 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 10.1% during the third quarter. Private Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,780 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,829,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $273,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA opened at $562.55 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $576.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $516.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.50, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $531.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $504.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a share buyback program 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 repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp upped their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. DZ Bank raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $603.08.

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.