Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Buys New Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 507 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $268,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $213,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,080,000. Abacus Planning Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $220,000. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 7.4% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 167,963 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $82,940,000 after purchasing an additional 11,513 shares during the period. Finally, Unique Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 18.6% during the third quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 3,406 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,682,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.8 %

MA stock opened at $555.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $509.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.03, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $576.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $527.58 and a 200-day moving average of $500.25.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program 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 programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 target price (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $595.64.

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.