Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Purchased by HM Payson & Co.

HM Payson & Co. raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 246,131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 2.2% of HM Payson & Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $129,605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 483.3% in the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $546.98 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $545.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $520.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $582.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $498.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.38, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard 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.