NovaPoint Capital LLC Has $5.45 Million Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

NovaPoint Capital LLC grew its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,353 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 234 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 1.7% of NovaPoint Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. NovaPoint Capital LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Raelipskie Partnership raised its position in Mastercard by 120.0% during the third quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. DZ Bank raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $603.08.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $566.05 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $519.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $529.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $503.41.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced 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 analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.