GCQ FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY Ltd Makes New Investment in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

GCQ FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY Ltd bought a new position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 70,941 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $37,355,000. Mastercard comprises approximately 13.1% of GCQ FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 483.3% during the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company 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 company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 target price (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE MA opened at $530.21 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $483.40 billion, a PE ratio of 38.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a fifty day moving average of $546.16 and a 200 day moving average of $523.83. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase 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 buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is 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.