Park Place Capital Corp Has $1.32 Million Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Park Place Capital Corp lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,503 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the quarter. Park Place Capital Corp’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,318,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,154,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 8,286 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,655,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 3,451 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,522,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Tremblant Capital Group increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 46.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tremblant Capital Group now owns 4,028 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,777,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 7,007 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,219,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $528.46 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $537.70. The stock has a market cap of $485.03 billion, a PE ratio of 39.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $524.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $496.01.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced 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 analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.63.

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.