Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 165,300 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,175,730 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 165,300 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.56% of Mastercard worth $2,725,384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 483.3% during the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 72.5% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 88 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $574.39 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $543.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $518.76. The stock has a market cap of $523.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23. 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 (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on MA. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup boosted 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.