Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Purchased by Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 20.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,799 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at about $55,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at about $54,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MA. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 price target (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price target (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $563.61 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $576.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $517.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.58, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $538.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $512.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

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

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.