Sherman Asset Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Sherman Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,267 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $667,000. Mastercard accounts for about 0.6% of Sherman Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MA. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,288,912 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,425,665,000 after purchasing an additional 257,312 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after purchasing an additional 700,769 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,043,972,000 after purchasing an additional 453,773 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,800,836,000 after purchasing an additional 304,293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,308,684 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,115,228,000 after purchasing an additional 64,456 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” 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 for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $576.08 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $576.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $525.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.47, a PEG ratio of 2.37 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $542.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $517.61.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly 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, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

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

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.