Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Bought by Rothschild Investment LLC

Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,793 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 614 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 57,976 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $30,529,000 after purchasing an additional 5,413 shares during the last quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 3,751 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,975,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC now owns 141,042 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $74,268,000 after purchasing an additional 8,902 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,368 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,247,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $558.44 on Tuesday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $539.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $514.96. The company has a market capitalization of $509.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding 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 usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MA. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group raised their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Macquarie upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

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.