Empirical Asset Management LLC Makes New $16.27 Million Investment in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 30,890 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $16,266,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $55,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE MA opened at $523.08 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $425.48 and a 52 week 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $524.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $493.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $480.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.57, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, November 25th. Citigroup increased their price target on Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.63.

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.