Prakash Investment Advisors LLC Makes New $1.95 Million Investment in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Prakash Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,700 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,948,000. Mastercard comprises about 1.9% of Prakash Investment Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,385,383,000 after buying an additional 62,891 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $194,141,000 after buying an additional 9,611 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,325,353,000 after buying an additional 337,905 shares during the period. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,237 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $35,932,000 after buying an additional 2,931 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,474,151,000 after buying an additional 100,550 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.0 %

MA stock traded down $5.85 during trading on Friday, reaching $557.44. The company had a trading volume of 2,256,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,585,452. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $576.94. The company has a market cap of $511.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.13, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day moving average of $538.41 and a 200 day moving average of $512.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $640.00 target price (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $606.11.

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.