SRN Advisors LLC Acquires 821 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

SRN Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 17.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,619 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 821 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 2.6% of SRN Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. SRN Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 483.3% in the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.6 %

MA stock opened at $560.86 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $541.04 and a 200-day moving average of $516.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $576.94. The company has a market capitalization of $511.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.38, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.