Lantz Financial LLC Raises Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Lantz Financial LLC grew its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,344 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,272 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,935,000 after buying an additional 1,495 shares during the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,896 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,211,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Accel Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 632 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. apricus wealth LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 31.5% in the 4th quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 689 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 2,893 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,523,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $533.50 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $537.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $489.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.36, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $524.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $497.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MA. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp increased their price target on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $567.29.

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.