Prakash Investment Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Prakash Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,700 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,948,000. Mastercard comprises about 1.9% of Prakash Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 14.8% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $925,662,000 after acquiring an additional 241,297 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.6% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 48,854 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $24,124,000 after buying an additional 1,219 shares during the period. Wallington Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at about $251,000. Fulcrum Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.4% during the third quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC now owns 29,495 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $14,565,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, RAM Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% during the third quarter. RAM Investment Partners LLC now owns 974 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 price target (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $563.61 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $517.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a fifty day moving average of $538.41 and a 200 day moving average of $512.53. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $576.94.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

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.