Bogart Wealth LLC Increases Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Bogart Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,387 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $10,209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Mastercard by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 205,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $101,523,000 after buying an additional 11,331 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Mastercard by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $925,662,000 after buying an additional 241,297 shares during the last quarter. ERn Financial LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $226,000. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 28.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 222 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Provident Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Provident Wealth Management LLC now owns 509 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $566.02 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $576.94. The company’s 50-day moving average is $533.94 and its 200 day moving average is $508.28. The company has a market capitalization of $519.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.75, 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 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Macquarie upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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.