Charter Oak Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Charter Oak Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,004 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the quarter. Charter Oak Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $528,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth $55,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $567.29.

Mastercard Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $547.53 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $502.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $524.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $497.91. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $547.99.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.39 EPS. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program 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 programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.00%.

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.