Wulff Hansen & CO. Buys 95 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,075 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Mastercard by 14.8% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $925,662,000 after buying an additional 241,297 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 4.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after buying an additional 138,842 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 42.8% in the third quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 938 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $463,000 after buying an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 0.5% in the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,227 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,050,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, St. Louis Trust Co acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $202,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $530.21 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $483.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.17, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $546.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $523.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays raised their price objective on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 target price (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

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.