Impact Investors Inc Takes Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Impact Investors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,021 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,591,000. Mastercard makes up approximately 1.2% of Impact Investors Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $925,662,000 after buying an additional 241,297 shares during the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 830 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 38.9% during the 3rd quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,080 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,521,000 after acquiring an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 4.4% during the third quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 15,260 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,792,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.9% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,080,500 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $532,886,000 after purchasing an additional 30,587 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA opened at $564.68 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $540.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $515.72. The stock has a market cap of $514.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on MA. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. 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 research note on Monday, December 9th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

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.