Allworth Financial LP Buys 2,160 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 34,502 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,160 shares during the quarter. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $18,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $39,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $54,000. Raelipskie Partnership grew its holdings in Mastercard by 120.0% in the third quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth approximately $55,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 target price (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:MA opened at $564.77 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market cap of $518.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.66, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $535.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $509.54. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

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.