D Orazio & Associates Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

D Orazio & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,431 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. D Orazio & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $754,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth about $54,000. Raelipskie Partnership boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 120.0% in the third quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of several research reports. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating 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, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 target price (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $603.08.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA opened at $562.55 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $576.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $516.33 billion, a PE ratio of 40.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $531.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $504.29. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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.