Flputnam Investment Management Co. Raises Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,415 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 608 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $12,330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $925,662,000 after purchasing an additional 241,297 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 3.2% during the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 773 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $109,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 34,018 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $16,798,000 after acquiring an additional 2,336 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 89,267 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $44,080,000 after acquiring an additional 2,033 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $576.08 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $525.22 billion, a PE ratio of 41.47, 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $542.83 and a 200-day moving average of $517.21. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $576.94.

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

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a stock 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Macquarie raised their price target on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.