Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 79 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 79 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $42,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 483.3% in the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 72.5% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 88 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $526.11 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $582.23. The stock has a market cap of $479.66 billion, a PE ratio of 37.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $545.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $522.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors 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 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.