Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. Has $219,000 Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 415 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 23 shares during the period. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Apeiron RIA LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Apeiron RIA LLC now owns 555 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Veracity Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 2,599 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,369,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 62.8% in the fourth quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 770 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 40.3% during the fourth quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 888 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $933,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $533.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $489.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.38, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $537.70. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $524.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $496.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $566.63.

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.