S&CO Inc. Grows Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

S&CO Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,201 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 190 shares during the quarter. S&CO Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $1,003,000. Clare Market Investments LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $897,000. Vista Investment Partners II LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $2,818,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in Mastercard by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 27,187 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $14,316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price objective (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Down 2.0 %

NYSE:MA opened at $535.80 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $582.23. The company has a 50-day moving average of $545.35 and a 200 day moving average of $521.61. The firm has a market cap of $488.49 billion, a PE ratio of 38.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan 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 plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.