Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,223 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,750,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on MA. Citigroup raised their price target on Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $567.29.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $547.61 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $502.61 billion, a PE ratio of 41.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day moving average of $525.29 and a 200 day moving average of $498.70. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $551.55. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.39 earnings per share. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

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.