GAMMA Investing LLC Has $6.59 Million Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 12,514 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,001 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 0.6% of GAMMA Investing LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $562.76.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE MA opened at $522.40 on Friday. 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 cap of $479.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.52, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $523.06 and a 200-day moving average of $488.98. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $416.53 and a 1-year high of $537.70.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.