Montecito Bank & Trust Makes New Investment in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Montecito Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,195 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,955,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MA. LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MA shares. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $665.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Mastercard from $645.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $690.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $654.81.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $564.92 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $553.47 and its 200 day moving average is $566.14. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77. The firm has a market cap of $507.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.12, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 202.03% and a net margin of 45.28%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 19.44%.

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.