Boomfish Wealth Group LLC Increases Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Boomfish Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,503 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 40 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 1.8% of Boomfish Wealth Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,897,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at $34,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $567.29.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $564.81 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $518.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.72, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The business’s 50 day moving average is $526.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $499.80. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a stock 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 reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are 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.