Manitou Investment Management Ltd. Has $35.77 Million Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Manitou Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 67,933 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 368 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 7.1% of Manitou Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Manitou Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $35,771,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group upped their price objective 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. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Four 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $567.29.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $533.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $489.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.38, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $537.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $524.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $496.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.39 earnings per share. Mastercard’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.