Welch Group LLC Acquires 638 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Welch Group LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,526 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 638 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Raelipskie Partnership boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 120.0% in the third quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of a number of research reports. DZ Bank upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $599.42.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $564.48 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $528.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $501.78. The company has a market cap of $518.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.64, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

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

Mastercard 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.