Golden State Wealth Management LLC Invests $595,000 in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,129 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $595,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% in the fourth 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 holdings in 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 buying an additional 4,713 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $30,368,000. Leo Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 8,285 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,362,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1900 Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upped their target price on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $603.08.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $562.55 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $531.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $504.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $576.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $516.33 billion, a PE ratio of 40.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued 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%. Analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a share buyback 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.