YANKCOM Partnership Purchases Shares of 535 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 535 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $282,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MA. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 24,535 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $12,919,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,984 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA grew its stake in Mastercard by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 795 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. NovaPoint Capital LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. NovaPoint Capital LLC now owns 10,353 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,451,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,316 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $693,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price target (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $603.08.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $566.05 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $529.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $503.41. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $576.94. The firm has a market cap of $519.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.75, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback 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.