KLCM Advisors Inc. Has $935,000 Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

KLCM Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,776 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. KLCM Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $935,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Mastercard by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 205,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $101,523,000 after purchasing an additional 11,331 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Mastercard by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $925,662,000 after purchasing an additional 241,297 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,751 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,321,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 124,605 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $61,530,000 after purchasing an additional 4,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AA Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth about $401,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $564.77 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $535.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $509.98. The firm has a market cap of $518.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.66, a PEG 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 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp upped their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. DZ Bank upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

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.