Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Purchased by 17 Capital Partners LLC

17 Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,767 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. 17 Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $273,000. Fermata Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 694 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 43.6% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 36,140 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $17,839,000 after buying an additional 10,969 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 23,964 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,833,000 after buying an additional 456 shares during the period. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 25.1% in the third quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 3,823 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,888,000 after acquiring an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MA shares. Barclays upped their price target on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price objective (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 target price (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $603.08.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $562.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $516.33 billion, a PE ratio of 40.50, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $531.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $505.09. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $576.94.

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 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

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.