Orser Capital Management LLC Trims Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Orser Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,389 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 30 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 3.3% of Orser Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Orser Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 120,665.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 8,035,099 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 51.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,846,187,000 after buying an additional 1,965,782 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after buying an additional 700,769 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,043,972,000 after buying an additional 453,773 shares during the period. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 52.8% in the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $573,017,000 after acquiring an additional 409,334 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna upped their price target on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $566.63.

Mastercard Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $522.41 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $425.48 and a 12-month high of $537.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market cap of $479.48 billion, a PE ratio of 39.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $524.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $493.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.00%.

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

Mastercard 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.