Verus Capital Partners LLC Buys 137 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Verus Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,325 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 483.3% in the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 72.5% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 88 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at $55,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on MA. DZ Bank raised 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. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price objective (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Up 2.0 %

MA stock opened at $576.08 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $576.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $542.83 and a 200-day moving average of $517.21. The company has a market capitalization of $525.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.47, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

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, topping 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, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard 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.