Sherman Asset Management Inc. Buys New Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Sherman Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 1,267 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $667,000. Mastercard makes up about 0.6% of Sherman Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Onefund LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Onefund LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. boosted its position in Mastercard by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 50,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,357,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA boosted its position in Mastercard by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA now owns 3,648 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,921,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 6,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,472,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 target price (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $576.08 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The business has a fifty day moving average of $542.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $517.61. The stock has a market cap of $525.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.47, a PEG 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 $576.94.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard 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.