First Financial Group Corp Buys New Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

First Financial Group Corp bought a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 759 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $400,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MA. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 483.3% in the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MA. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $527.87 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $582.23. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $545.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $522.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $481.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

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