AlphaStar Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

AlphaStar Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,628 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $857,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,971,020,000 after purchasing an additional 8,035,099 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 51.7% in the 3rd 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. FMR LLC raised its position 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 valued at $10,545,139,000 after buying an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,043,972,000 after acquiring an additional 453,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 52.8% in the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $573,017,000 after acquiring an additional 409,334 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on MA. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 price target (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $603.08.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA opened at $562.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $516.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.50, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $576.94. The company’s 50 day moving average is $531.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $505.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. 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%.

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

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.