Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Bought by Midwest Professional Planners LTD.

Midwest Professional Planners LTD. raised its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 19.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,223 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 864 shares during the period. Midwest Professional Planners LTD.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% during the fourth 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. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $519.38 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $545.25 and a 200-day moving average of $522.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $473.52 billion, a PE ratio of 37.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. 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 (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (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, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm 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 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 0.59%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday. UBS Group raised their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price target (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.