394 Shares in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Purchased by Capital Investment Counsel Inc

Capital Investment Counsel Inc acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 394 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% in the third quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,385,383,000 after acquiring an additional 62,891 shares during the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $194,141,000 after acquiring an additional 9,611 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,325,353,000 after acquiring an additional 337,905 shares during the last quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,237 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $35,932,000 after acquiring an additional 2,931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,474,151,000 after acquiring an additional 100,550 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $557.44 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $511.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $576.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $538.98 and a 200-day moving average of $513.33.

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

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Macquarie raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

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.