Vestcor Inc Raises Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Vestcor Inc increased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 30,630 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,035 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $16,129,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 483.3% during the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp upped their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.2 %

Mastercard stock opened at $524.69 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $478.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $545.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $522.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

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

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.