Grove Bank & Trust Has $4.94 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,390 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the quarter. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,288,912 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,425,665,000 after purchasing an additional 257,312 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after buying an additional 700,769 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,043,972,000 after buying an additional 453,773 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after acquiring an additional 8,035,099 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,800,836,000 after acquiring an additional 304,293 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $525.22 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $524.28 and its 200-day moving average is $494.24. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $427.45 and a 1-year high of $537.70. 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 stock has a market cap of $482.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders 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 an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on MA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup increased their target price on Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.