NewEdge Wealth LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,155 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,218 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 0.9% of NewEdge Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $52,739,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $925,662,000 after purchasing an additional 241,297 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard by 0.4% during the third quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 6,417 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,169,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.9% in the third quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 3,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,736,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% in the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,107 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,624,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% during the third quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 533 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $560.86 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $511.34 billion, a PE ratio of 40.38, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $541.04 and a 200 day moving average of $516.03. 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 Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $576.94.

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

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.