Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. Acquires 429 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 483.3% in the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 price objective (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $564.68 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $540.22 and a 200-day moving average of $515.72. The stock has a market cap of $514.82 billion, a PE ratio of 40.65, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $576.94. 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 (NYSE:MA) last announced its 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 net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

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

Mastercard Company 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.