Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 6,781 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 184,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,781 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $97,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth approximately $54,000. Raelipskie Partnership lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 120.0% during the third quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth approximately $55,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of research reports. DZ Bank upgraded 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. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $566.02 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $533.94 and a 200-day moving average of $508.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $576.94. The company has a market capitalization of $519.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.75, a P/E/G 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.