Sage Investment Counsel LLC Invests $334,000 in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Sage Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 635 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $334,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $8,118,000. Flputnam Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 23,415 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $12,330,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares during the last quarter. Illumine Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $475,000. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,361 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,456,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schulz Wealth LTD. bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $208,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded 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. Four investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE MA opened at $576.08 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $525.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.47, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $542.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $517.21. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $576.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 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%. On average, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a share repurchase 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 repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.