Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Acquired by Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC

Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 551 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of 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 third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.0 %

Mastercard stock opened at $547.61 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $525.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $498.70. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $502.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $551.55.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders 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 0.56%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MA shares. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $572.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays increased their target price on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $567.29.

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.