Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Acquired by Walter Public Investments Inc.

Walter Public Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 44,819 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,729 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 4.2% of Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $23,600,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. GenTrust LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. GenTrust LLC now owns 1,138 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $599,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. SRN Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 5,619 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,959,000 after buying an additional 821 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $198,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 100,155 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $52,739,000 after buying an additional 3,218 shares during the period. Finally, Magnolia Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $440,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer reduced 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of MA opened at $560.86 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $541.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $516.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94. The stock has a market cap of $511.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.38, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard 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.