Affinity Wealth Management LLC Raises Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Affinity Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,026 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 356 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 1.5% of Affinity Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Affinity Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $8,439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2,861.1% during the second quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,193 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,938,000 after purchasing an additional 10,815 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1,211.0% during the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 79,970 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,280,000 after acquiring an additional 73,870 shares in the last quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP lifted its stake in Mastercard by 7.3% in the second quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP now owns 3,290 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,451,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 2,979 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,314,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 18,432 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,132,000 after purchasing an additional 730 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $567.29.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $533.50 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $524.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $497.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $537.70. The stock has a market cap of $489.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.36, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

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

About Mastercard

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.