Postrock Partners LLC Acquires New Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Postrock Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 484 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MA. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 483.3% during the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $519.38 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $545.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $522.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $473.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MA. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price 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. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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.