Legacy Private Trust Co. Acquires 33 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Legacy Private Trust Co. increased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,415 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 0.7% of Legacy Private Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Legacy Private Trust Co.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $11,276,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 12,522.2% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 55,790 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 55,348 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $277,000. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. grew its position in Mastercard by 41.7% during the 2nd quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 16,071 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,090,000 after acquiring an additional 4,733 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in Mastercard by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 386,840 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $170,658,000 after purchasing an additional 7,262 shares during the period. Finally, Sachetta LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 28.9% in the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 254 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA traded up $4.66 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $516.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,456,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,407,100. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $473.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $523.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $491.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $418.54 and a 12 month high of $537.70.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.76 dividend. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.00%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MA. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $562.76.

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.