Motiv8 Investments LLC Grows Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Motiv8 Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 22.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,171 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. Motiv8 Investments LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,143,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 14.8% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 0.4% in the third quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 6,417 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,169,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 1.9% during the third quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 3,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,736,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,107 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,624,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Strategies LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 4.5% during the third quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 533 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $560.86 on Thursday. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $511.34 billion, a PE ratio of 40.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $541.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $516.03.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is currently 21.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Macquarie raised their target price on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays increased their target price on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus 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.