Integrated Investment Consultants LLC Buys Shares of 390 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Integrated Investment Consultants LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 390 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $572.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $566.63.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $525.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $482.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $427.45 and a 52-week high of $537.70. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $524.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $494.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership 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.