DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co Increases Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 68.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,928 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 783 shares during the quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 483.3% during the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:MA opened at $557.44 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $576.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $508.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $538.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $513.78.

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

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

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.