Colonial River Investments LLC Purchases 25 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Colonial River Investments LLC increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 781 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 25 shares during the quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $411,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MA. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Mastercard by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $925,662,000 after purchasing an additional 241,297 shares during the period. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 1,496 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $739,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 466 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in Mastercard by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 6,194 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,059,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 8,682 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,287,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.0 %

Mastercard stock opened at $557.44 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $538.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $514.23. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $576.94. The company has a market capitalization of $508.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.