Decker Retirement Planning Inc. Purchases Shares of 895 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 895 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $471,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Occidental Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 38.5% in the fourth quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $583,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $16,266,000. Cvfg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $1,841,000. Salvus Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,580 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $832,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC now owns 635 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1 %

MA stock opened at $523.08 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $425.48 and a one year high of $537.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company has a fifty day moving average of $524.17 and a 200-day moving average of $493.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $480.10 billion, a PE ratio of 39.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.39 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 EPS for the current year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Barclays raised their price target on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $566.63.

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.