Capital Investment Counsel LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Capital Investment Counsel LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,491 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,347 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 1.3% of Capital Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Capital Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Invst LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 14.0% in the second quarter. Invst LLC now owns 829 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $147,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 3.7% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,355 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,215,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 386 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 33.0% in the 2nd quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $584,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group increased their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $567.29.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $547.61 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $551.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $525.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $498.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $502.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase 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 buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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.