Apollon Financial LLC Grows Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Apollon Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 41.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 769 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Apollon Financial LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $405,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after buying an additional 8,035,099 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 51.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,846,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965,782 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after purchasing an additional 700,769 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,043,972,000 after purchasing an additional 453,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 52.8% in the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $573,017,000 after purchasing an additional 409,334 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $562.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $516.33 billion, a PE ratio of 40.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $576.94. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $531.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $504.29.

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 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 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. DZ Bank raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 target price (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 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 assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $603.08.

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.