Busey Bank Acquires 1,190 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Busey Bank raised its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 89,232 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,190 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 1.5% of Busey Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Busey Bank’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $46,987,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth about $54,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $549.25 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $504.11 billion, a PE ratio of 41.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $551.55. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $525.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $499.45. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $567.29.

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.