Cvfg LLC Purchases New Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Cvfg LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,497 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,841,000. Mastercard comprises about 1.7% of Cvfg LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldstein Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the third quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $749,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% in the 3rd 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 stake in Mastercard by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $690,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management grew its position in Mastercard by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,055 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Traveka Wealth LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $778,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $566.63.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock traded up $2.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $525.22. 2,373,992 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,646,914. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $427.45 and a twelve month high of $537.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company has a market capitalization of $482.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $524.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $493.64.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. Mastercard's revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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 0.58%. This is an increase 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%.

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.