Lutz Financial Services LLC Makes New $213,000 Investment in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Lutz Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 51.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,846,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965,782 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,545,139,000 after acquiring an additional 700,769 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,043,972,000 after acquiring an additional 453,773 shares during the period. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 52.8% in the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $573,017,000 after acquiring an additional 409,334 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 214.7% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 535,503 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $264,431,000 after acquiring an additional 365,324 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of several research reports. Macquarie increased their price objective on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp raised their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $557.44 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $576.94. The firm has a market cap of $508.22 billion, a PE ratio of 40.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business has a fifty day moving average of $538.98 and a 200-day moving average of $513.78.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Company 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.