Veery Capital LLC Increases Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Veery Capital LLC raised its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,421 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Veery Capital LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $748,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE MA opened at $525.22 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $524.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $494.24. The stock has a market cap of $482.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.73, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $427.45 and a 52 week 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.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.39 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on MA. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.63.

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.