IMS Capital Management Raises Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

IMS Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,354 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. IMS Capital Management’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $25,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price objective (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $566.02 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $519.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.75, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $576.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $533.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $508.28.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are 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.