59,441 Shares in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Bought by Avanza Fonder AB

Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 59,441 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $31,300,000. Mastercard accounts for about 0.9% of Avanza Fonder AB’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $523.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $480.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $524.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $493.43. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $427.45 and a 1-year high of $537.70.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $566.63.

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.