Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Bought by Buckhead Capital Management LLC

Buckhead Capital Management LLC grew its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,140 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 5.8% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 205,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $101,523,000 after buying an additional 11,331 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its position in Mastercard by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $925,662,000 after acquiring an additional 241,297 shares during the period. ERn Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $226,000. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 28.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 222 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Provident Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Provident Wealth Management LLC now owns 509 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $566.02 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $533.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $508.28. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $576.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $519.51 billion, a PE ratio of 40.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho boosted their target price on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price target (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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.