Postrock Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Postrock Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 484 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB raised its position in Mastercard by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $925,662,000 after buying an additional 241,297 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 4.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,497,160,000 after purchasing an additional 138,842 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 8.6% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,733 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,325,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 30.6% in the 3rd quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 2,549 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bell Bank increased its position in Mastercard by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bell Bank now owns 5,696 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,813,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. DZ Bank raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $519.38 on Friday. 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 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $582.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $473.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $545.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $522.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company 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 is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

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.