Caprock Group LLC Acquires 2,679 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 10.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 28,311 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,679 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $14,908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter worth $34,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter worth $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter worth $54,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays raised their price objective on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $567.29.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $562.64 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $516.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.56, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $527.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $500.25. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced 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 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. Analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management 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.