Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Acquires 2,440 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 178.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,811 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,440 shares during the quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,007,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,497,160,000 after purchasing an additional 138,842 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at $1,540,000. Hardy Reed LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 4,992 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,465,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. BNP Paribas raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 26,538 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $13,104,000 after acquiring an additional 3,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 36.2% in the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 9,783 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,831,000 after purchasing an additional 2,601 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.7 %

MA opened at $549.13 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.23. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $549.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $526.06. The stock has a market cap of $500.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.53, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 target price (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Four investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard 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.