Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Acquired by Corundum Group Inc.

Corundum Group Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 100.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,062 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,536 shares during the quarter. Corundum Group Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MA. DLK Investment Management LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $511,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. BlueSky Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $200,000. Strong Tower Advisory Services raised its holdings in Mastercard by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 6,376 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,357,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its holdings in Mastercard by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 871,674 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $458,997,000 after purchasing an additional 39,732 shares during the period. Finally, M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $254,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:MA traded up $2.08 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $525.22. The company had a trading volume of 2,373,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,205,146. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $524.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $494.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $427.45 and a 12-month high of $537.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $482.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.73, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.39 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This is a boost from Mastercard's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $575.00 target price (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $566.63.

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.