Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 642 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 642 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $338,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $1,125,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 8,345 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,394,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Compound Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $369,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $4,659,000. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,056 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,136,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 price objective (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company 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 given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $603.08.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $565.51 on Tuesday. 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 Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $576.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $531.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $506.04. The stock has a market cap of $519.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.71, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

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.