Mattern Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Mattern Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,271 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Mattern Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dash Acquisitions Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 46,308 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $25,347,000 after buying an additional 1,676 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 7,931 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,176,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Hardy Reed LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 5,015 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,641,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $606,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 662,219 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $348,705,000 after buying an additional 35,208 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE MA opened at $563.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $517.30 billion, a PE ratio of 40.58, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $576.94. The business’s 50-day moving average is $538.41 and its 200 day moving average is $512.53.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 target price (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

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.