Financial Network Wealth Management LLC Makes New $208,000 Investment in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Financial Network Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 396 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB increased its position in Mastercard by 14.8% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $925,662,000 after acquiring an additional 241,297 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,497,160,000 after purchasing an additional 138,842 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $20,349,000. Strategy Asset Managers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 892 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.1% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 5,140 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,539,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $536.08 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $546.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $524.00. 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 has a market capitalization of $488.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.59, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.