Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Purchased by Safeguard Financial LLC

Safeguard Financial LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 92.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,381 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the quarter. Safeguard Financial LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $508.49 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $425.48 and a 1 year high of $537.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $466.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.46, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $524.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $493.23.

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

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 23.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on MA shares. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $572.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $566.63.

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.