7,847 Shares in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Acquired by SBI Securities Co. Ltd.

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,847 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,132,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Mastercard by 14.8% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $925,662,000 after buying an additional 241,297 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Mastercard by 20.5% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 511 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 21.6% in the third quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 1,097 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $542,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 3.2% in the third quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 5,779 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,854,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Dash Acquisitions Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 6.9% in the third quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 44,632 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $22,645,000 after buying an additional 2,877 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $576.08 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $525.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.47, a PEG 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $542.83 and its 200 day moving average is $517.61. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $576.94.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 price objective (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

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.