NRI Wealth Management LC Invests $2.28 Million in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

NRI Wealth Management LC bought a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 4,338 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,284,000. Mastercard comprises 1.6% of NRI Wealth Management LC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,514 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,589,000 after purchasing an additional 2,001 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Mastercard by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,238 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $652,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Old Port Advisors lifted its stake in Mastercard by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 1,681 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $885,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 655 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Trust grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. American Trust now owns 11,157 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,509,000 after buying an additional 1,352 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Macquarie increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $562.76.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $522.40 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $523.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $488.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $416.53 and a 12 month high of $537.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $479.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

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.