Kathmere Capital Management LLC Buys 187 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 12.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,749 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 187 shares during the quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MA. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 70.5% in the 2nd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 9,688 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,274,000 after buying an additional 4,005 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 37,608.0% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 337,487 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $148,886,000 after acquiring an additional 336,592 shares in the last quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 5.3% during the second quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC now owns 11,897 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,249,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the period. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $268,000. Finally, Excalibur Management Corp lifted its stake in Mastercard by 6.7% in the second quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 3,056 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,348,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $508.49 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $425.48 and a 52 week high of $537.70. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $524.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $493.23. The stock has a market cap of $466.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.46, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. 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 note on Friday, November 15th. Macquarie increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, November 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average 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.