Cvfg LLC Acquires Shares of 3,497 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Cvfg LLC bought a new position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,497 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,841,000. Mastercard accounts for about 1.7% of Cvfg LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in Mastercard by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,288,912 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $17,425,665,000 after buying an additional 257,312 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after purchasing an additional 700,769 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,043,972,000 after purchasing an additional 453,773 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,971,020,000 after buying an additional 8,035,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,800,836,000 after buying an additional 304,293 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA opened at $523.08 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $480.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.57, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $425.48 and a 1-year high of $537.70. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $524.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $493.43. 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 (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.63.

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.