Horizon Investments LLC Purchases 175 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Horizon Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,576 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,880,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 121,319 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $63,883,000 after buying an additional 1,198 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 140,257 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $73,922,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Custos Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Clarity Wealth Development LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $561,000. Finally, PDS Planning Inc boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,399 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,316,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $530.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $483.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.17, a P/E/G 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. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $546.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $523.83. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MA. Barclays lifted their target price on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Macquarie boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

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.