Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is Bank OZK’s 5th Largest Position

Bank OZK lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,574 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 2.1% of Bank OZK’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Bank OZK’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,041,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MA. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $925,662,000 after acquiring an additional 241,297 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 773 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth about $109,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 34,018 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $16,798,000 after acquiring an additional 2,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR increased its position in Mastercard by 2.3% during the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 89,267 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $44,080,000 after buying an additional 2,033 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 2.0 %

Mastercard stock opened at $576.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94. The company has a market cap of $525.22 billion, a PE ratio of 41.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $542.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $517.21.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 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, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

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.