Allworth Financial LP Raises Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,502 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,160 shares during the quarter. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $18,189,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 30,552 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $16,088,000 after purchasing an additional 2,851 shares during the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,651 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,449,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. American Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $208,000. Hickory Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $1,053,000. Finally, Aveo Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 93.8% in the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,473 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,302,000 after acquiring an additional 1,197 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 target price (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their target price on Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA opened at $564.77 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $576.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $518.36 billion, a PE ratio of 40.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $535.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $509.54.

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%. Research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management 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.