Carrera Capital Advisors Boosts Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Carrera Capital Advisors grew its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 545 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 41 shares during the quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors’ holdings in Mastercard were worth $287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 483.3% during the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 72.5% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 88 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MA. Citigroup raised their price target on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. 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. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $554.88 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $582.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $544.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $519.37. The stock has a market cap of $505.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

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

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.