Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Holdings Increased by Rockland Trust Co.

Rockland Trust Co. increased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 61,352 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 1.6% of Rockland Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $32,306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter worth about $35,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on MA. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. 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. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.63.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA opened at $508.49 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $524.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $493.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $466.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $425.48 and a 12-month high of $537.70.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. Mastercard’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.00%.

About Mastercard

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.