Custos Family Office LLC Takes $216,000 Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Custos Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 410 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clarity Wealth Development LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $561,000. PDS Planning Inc boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,399 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,316,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. RD Lewis Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,002,000. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC now owns 846 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 63,333 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $33,349,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $532.66 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $545.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $523.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $582.23. The company has a market cap of $485.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding 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 typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Macquarie upped their target price on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp upped their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their target price on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

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.