Oak Harvest Investment Services Grows Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Oak Harvest Investment Services boosted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,830 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Oak Harvest Investment Services’ holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,249 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,290,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Hixon Zuercher LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Hixon Zuercher LLC now owns 13,137 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,918,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its holdings in Mastercard by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 154,994 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $81,257,000 after buying an additional 16,527 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $580,000. Finally, Sage Financial Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $212,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group upped their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $567.29.

Mastercard Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $564.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94. The business has a 50-day moving average of $526.58 and a 200-day moving average of $499.80. The company has a market capitalization of $518.40 billion, a PE ratio of 42.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. This is a boost 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 is presently 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership 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.