Lazari Capital Management Inc. Purchases 20 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Lazari Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,884 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $992,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,651,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.3% in the third quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $749,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.9% in the third quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 2,190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,081,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.5% in the third quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $690,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boltwood Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $595.64.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $555.63 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $509.97 billion, a PE ratio of 40.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $528.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $501.78. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. 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. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard Company 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.