Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Buys Shares of 975 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 975 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $513,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,288,912 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,425,665,000 after purchasing an additional 257,312 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after purchasing an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,043,972,000 after purchasing an additional 453,773 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,800,836,000 after purchasing an additional 304,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,308,684 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,115,228,000 after purchasing an additional 64,456 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $535.93 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company has a market cap of $488.61 billion, a PE ratio of 38.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day moving average of $546.56 and a 200 day moving average of $523.92. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued 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 yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

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.