Veracity Capital LLC Boosts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Veracity Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,599 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 85 shares during the quarter. Veracity Capital LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,971,020,000 after purchasing an additional 8,035,099 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 51.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,846,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965,782 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after buying an additional 700,769 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,043,972,000 after buying an additional 453,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $573,017,000 after buying an additional 409,334 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.2 %

MA opened at $533.77 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $537.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company’s 50-day moving average is $524.27 and its 200 day moving average is $496.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $489.91 billion, a PE ratio of 40.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. 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 yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 23.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Mizuho upped their price target on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $566.63.

About Mastercard

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.