ZEGA Investments LLC Purchases New Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

ZEGA Investments LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 440 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $235,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Mastercard by 51.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,846,187,000 after buying an additional 1,965,782 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 79,739.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $818,962,000 after buying an additional 1,553,329 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after purchasing an additional 700,769 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,899,438 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,532,541,000 after purchasing an additional 565,717 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $535.14 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $547.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $524.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $487.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.53, a PEG 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 quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders 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 is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MA. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price target (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Company 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.