Hickory Asset Management Inc. Makes New $1.05 Million Investment in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Hickory Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,053,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 5.8% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 205,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $101,523,000 after acquiring an additional 11,331 shares during the period. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 14.8% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $925,662,000 after acquiring an additional 241,297 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,351 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,148,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 24,428 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $12,063,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, Secure Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $233,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. DZ Bank upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays raised their price target on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $564.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $534.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $508.68. The firm has a market cap of $518.36 billion, a PE ratio of 40.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share 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%. Analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a stock 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 repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase 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.