Integrated Investment Consultants LLC Makes New $205,000 Investment in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Integrated Investment Consultants LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 390 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 80,661 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,584,000 after buying an additional 3,473 shares in the last quarter. Blue Whale Capital LLP increased its holdings in Mastercard by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Whale Capital LLP now owns 127,250 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $56,138,000 after acquiring an additional 4,750 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Mastercard by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 142,002 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $62,646,000 after acquiring an additional 5,158 shares in the last quarter. Investidor Profissional Gestao de Recursos Ltda. raised its position in Mastercard by 6.9% during the second quarter. Investidor Profissional Gestao de Recursos Ltda. now owns 24,146 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,652,000 after acquiring an additional 1,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 11.6% in the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 14,949 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,595,000 after purchasing an additional 1,549 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $525.22 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $524.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $494.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $427.45 and a 12-month high of $537.70. The company has a market cap of $482.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.39 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Macquarie increased their price objective on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.63.

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.