Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Purchases 9,790 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 205.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,546 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,790 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,075 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $566,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 44,114 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $23,184,000 after purchasing an additional 4,513 shares in the last quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,857,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Finally, Saiph Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 944 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $530.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $483.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.17, a P/E/G 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $546.16 and a 200 day moving average of $523.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) 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, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 21.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

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.