Copperleaf Capital LLC Has $2.02 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Copperleaf Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,829 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 477 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 1.3% of Copperleaf Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Copperleaf Capital LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,016,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $640.00 price target (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock traded down $0.25 on Wednesday, reaching $568.36. 982,074 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,561,124. The stock has a market cap of $521.66 billion, a PE ratio of 40.92, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $576.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $537.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $511.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.