Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Purchased by Midwest Professional Planners LTD.

Midwest Professional Planners LTD. lifted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,223 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 864 shares during the quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Postrock Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $255,000. Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. raised its stake in Mastercard by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. now owns 14,688 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,735,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Renasant Bank raised its stake in Mastercard by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Renasant Bank now owns 2,061 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,085,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. King Wealth Management Group raised its stake in Mastercard by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. King Wealth Management Group now owns 16,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,878,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aviso Financial Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 12,564 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,616,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $519.38 on Friday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $545.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $522.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $473.52 billion, a PE ratio of 37.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors 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 repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are 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.