Asset Planning Inc Takes $1.43 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,723 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,434,000. Mastercard comprises approximately 1.1% of Asset Planning Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Mastercard by 5.8% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 205,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $101,523,000 after buying an additional 11,331 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted 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 worth $925,662,000 after purchasing an additional 241,297 shares during the period. ERn Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth approximately $226,000. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 28.3% in the third quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 222 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Provident Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 9.2% in the third quarter. Provident Wealth Management LLC now owns 509 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.3 %

MA stock opened at $566.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $519.51 billion, a PE ratio of 40.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $576.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $533.94 and its 200 day moving average is $508.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders 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 21.89%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MA. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

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.