Magnolia Private Wealth LLC Makes New Investment in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Magnolia Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 835 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $440,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd lifted its stake in Mastercard by 2.3% in the third quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,385,383,000 after purchasing an additional 62,891 shares during the last quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,237 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,932,000 after acquiring an additional 2,931 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its position in Mastercard by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $194,141,000 after acquiring an additional 9,611 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Mastercard by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,325,353,000 after acquiring an additional 337,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 2.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,474,151,000 after purchasing an additional 100,550 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MA shares. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $564.68 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $540.22 and a 200 day moving average of $515.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $576.94. The firm has a market cap of $514.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.65, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

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

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

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.