Segment Wealth Management LLC Acquires 25 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Segment Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,821 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,065,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 8,035,099 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 51.7% during 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 last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% during 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in 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 worth $9,043,972,000 after purchasing an additional 453,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $573,017,000 after purchasing an additional 409,334 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $525.22 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $427.45 and a 1-year high of $537.70. The firm has a market cap of $482.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.10. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $524.28 and a 200-day moving average of $494.92.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.39 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four equities 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $566.63.

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.