Exchange Capital Management Inc. Purchases 21 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Exchange Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 470 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Exchange Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $247,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 3,193 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,681,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. EdgeRock Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $576,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Fairhaven Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Fairhaven Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,255 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,873,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 69.5% in the 4th quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 771 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $564.68 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $540.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $515.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $514.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.65, 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. As a group, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their target price on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna raised their target price on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

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.