Willis Investment Counsel Purchases 1,350 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Willis Investment Counsel grew its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 24,711 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,350 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $14,107,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vulcan Value Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC now owns 466,222 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $265,233,000 after buying an additional 28,331 shares during the period. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 153.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,856 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,625,000 after buying an additional 1,730 shares during the period. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,113,000. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 309,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $175,872,000 after buying an additional 4,700 shares during the period. Finally, Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 15,335 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,723,000 after buying an additional 7,215 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MA. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Mastercard from $730.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $739.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $700.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Macquarie Infrastructure upped their target price on Mastercard from $660.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $664.40.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.7%

MA opened at $506.93 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $452.08 billion, a PE ratio of 30.69, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The business has a 50 day moving average of $515.07 and a 200-day moving average of $542.84. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $470.00 and a 52 week high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $8.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.80 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 203.92% and a net margin of 45.65%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.82 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.07%.

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.