Main Street Research LLC Has $297,000 Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Main Street Research LLC raised its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 564 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the quarter. Main Street Research LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MA. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard by 483.3% during the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MA. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Macquarie boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of MA opened at $546.98 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $545.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $521.14. The company has a market cap of $498.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced 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, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

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.