DeDora Capital Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

DeDora Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,462 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. DeDora Capital Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter worth $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Bollard Group LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MA. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $425.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $479.62.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,527,976,823. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total transaction of $3,736,447.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,628 shares of company stock valued at $23,309,067 in the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock traded up $3.62 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $481.57. 2,207,475 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,443,068. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $355.82 and a 52-week high of $490.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $464.17 and its 200 day moving average is $426.46. The stock has a market cap of $449.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. Analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.32%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $11.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.