FPC Investment Advisory Inc. Raises Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

FPC Investment Advisory Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 483.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 58 shares during the quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $39,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 51.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,846,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965,782 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,545,139,000 after purchasing an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,043,972,000 after purchasing an additional 453,773 shares in the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $573,017,000 after purchasing an additional 409,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 214.7% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 535,503 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $264,431,000 after purchasing an additional 365,324 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE:MA opened at $557.44 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $538.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $513.78. The company has a market capitalization of $508.22 billion, a PE ratio of 40.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Macquarie upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp upped their price target 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, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

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.