Goelzer Investment Management Inc. Grows Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,531 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 215 shares during the quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,492,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 47.9% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 11,667 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,143,000 after purchasing an additional 3,778 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional boosted its position in Mastercard by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 9,633 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,072,000 after acquiring an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $5,704,000. Rodgers & Associates LTD purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $210,000. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $334,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.1 %

Mastercard stock opened at $533.50 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $524.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $496.49. The stock has a market cap of $489.66 billion, a PE ratio of 40.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $537.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.39 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, November 25th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $575.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $567.29.

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.