Proficio Capital Partners LLC Raises Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 79,739.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,553,329 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Mastercard worth $818,962,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $39,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 483.3% during the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $54,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $560.86 on Thursday. 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 Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $541.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $516.03. The company has a market capitalization of $511.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.38, a PEG 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, topping 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, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

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.