Natural Investments LLC Acquires New Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Natural Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 10,906 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,742,000. Mastercard comprises 1.6% of Natural Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Addison Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 493 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,651,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. now owns 475 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Augustine Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $535.80 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $545.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $521.61. The company has a market cap of $488.49 billion, a PE ratio of 38.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS 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. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented 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 research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 target price (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

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.