Montecito Bank & Trust Increases Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Montecito Bank & Trust increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,764 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,288,912 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $17,425,665,000 after acquiring an additional 257,312 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after purchasing an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,043,972,000 after purchasing an additional 453,773 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,971,020,000 after acquiring an additional 8,035,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,800,836,000 after buying an additional 304,293 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $533.77 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $537.70. The company has a market capitalization of $489.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.38, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $524.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $496.23.

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

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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 issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.63.

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.