Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, credit card giant MasterCard (NYSE: MA) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at MasterCard's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

MasterCard facts

   
Headquarters (founded) Purchase, N.Y. (1966)
Market Cap $52.6 billion
Industry Data processing and outsourced services
Trailing-12-Month Revenue $7.1 billion
Management

CEO Ajaypal Banga (since 2010)

CFO Martina Hund-Mejean (since 2007)

Return on Equity (average, past 3 years) 42.9%
Cash/Debt $5.0 billion / $0
Dividend Yield 0.3%
Competitors

American Express

Discover Financial Services

Visa

Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 92% of the 3,275 members who have rated MasterCard believe that the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.   

Earlier this month, one of those Fools, All-Star Chemdawg, succinctly summed up the MasterCard bull case for our community:

[A]bsolutely sick cash flow ... no debt ... recently doubled dividend and they still have a payout ratio under [10%]. They still have a ton of room to push that higher without anything to worry about ... P/E of 25 is [reasonable] ... and also the fact that almost no one uses cash anymore ... looks pretty healthy from looking at the books. [O]utperform.

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