Core Wealth Partners LLC Increases Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Core Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 35.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 963 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. Core Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $544.74 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $549.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $525.90. The company has a market cap of $496.64 billion, a PE ratio of 39.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $582.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS 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, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn cut Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. DZ Bank raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Mastercard

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.