Tower Wealth Partners Inc. Acquires New Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Tower Wealth Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 415 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 483.3% in the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 target price (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $546.98 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $545.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $521.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.23. The company has a market capitalization of $498.68 billion, a PE ratio of 39.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a share buyback 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership 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.