Howard Financial Services LTD. lifted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA – Free Report) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,391 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,259,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 31.1% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 37,590 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $16,583,000 after purchasing an additional 8,911 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 1.9% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,517 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,875,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 5.3% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 63,616 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $28,065,000 after acquiring an additional 3,218 shares in the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.4% in the second quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,194,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Mastercard by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,327,168 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,908,973,000 after purchasing an additional 113,238 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.
Mastercard Trading Up 0.4 %
Shares of MA opened at $525.22 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $524.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $493.64. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $427.45 and a 12-month high of $537.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $482.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10.
Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.
Mastercard Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.97%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research firms recently issued reports on MA. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Mizuho increased their price target on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $566.63.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on MA
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.
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