Triasima Portfolio Management inc. Buys Shares of 816 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Triasima Portfolio Management inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 816 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $430,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MA. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $595,000. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 4,215 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,219,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 103,838 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $54,678,000 after purchasing an additional 4,713 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,368,000. Finally, Leo Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 8,285 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,362,000 after buying an additional 1,266 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA opened at $562.55 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $531.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $504.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $576.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $516.33 billion, a PE ratio of 40.50, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on MA shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $603.08.

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.