Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp Increases Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp raised its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,457 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $54,000. Raelipskie Partnership raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 120.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho increased their target price on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $603.08.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of MA opened at $562.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $516.33 billion, a PE ratio of 40.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $531.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $504.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a $0.76 dividend. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.