Rialto Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 136 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $72,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,179,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. River Global Investors LLP acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $18,997,000. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,136,000. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 114,531 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $60,309,000 after buying an additional 36,909 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,133,780 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $640,601,000 after buying an additional 83,039 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MA. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Macquarie increased their price target on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research 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 an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $546.98 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $498.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $545.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $520.77. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

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.