Apollon Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 24.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,504 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,422 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $17,116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $25,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth $54,000. Raelipskie Partnership increased its position in Mastercard by 120.0% in the third quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $562.55 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $531.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $504.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $576.94. The firm has a market cap of $516.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a $0.76 dividend. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $603.08.

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.