Versant Capital Management Inc Has $652,000 Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 38.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,238 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $523.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $488.98. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $416.53 and a 1-year high of $537.70. The firm has a market cap of $479.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $572.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $562.76.

Mastercard 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.