Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is Lincoln Capital LLC’s 3rd Largest Position

Lincoln Capital LLC lessened its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,844 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 909 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 7.0% of Lincoln Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Lincoln Capital LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $33,092,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $566.63.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $525.22 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $427.45 and a fifty-two week high of $537.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $524.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $494.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The stock has a market cap of $482.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.97%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.