Innova Wealth Partners Takes $200,000 Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Innova Wealth Partners bought a new position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 380 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MA. Range Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 155.1% during the fourth quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 1,069 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. One Wealth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,278,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $804,000. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,796 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in Mastercard by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,501 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $15,008,000 after purchasing an additional 6,456 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $511.89 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $523.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $491.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $469.83 billion, a PE ratio of 38.72, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $416.53 and a 1-year high of $537.70.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.39 EPS. Mastercard’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 23.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $562.76.

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.