Wealth Quarterback LLC Buys New Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Wealth Quarterback LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 401 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth $39,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at $54,000. Raelipskie Partnership increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 120.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth $55,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MA shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $564.77 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $576.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $518.36 billion, a PE ratio of 40.66, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $535.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $510.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

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

About Mastercard

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.