Assetmark Inc. Purchases 36,450 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 28.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 165,401 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,450 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $87,095,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 241,297 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 39.6% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,474 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. Alterna Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Alterna Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,385 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $684,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $641,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Martin Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% during the third quarter. Martin Investment Management LLC now owns 39,191 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $19,353,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup raised their price target on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 price objective (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $554.88 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23. The firm has a market cap of $505.89 billion, a PE ratio of 39.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $544.12 and its 200-day moving average is $519.37.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

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.