57,671 Shares in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Purchased by Strategic Financial Concepts LLC

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 57,671 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $30,368,000. Mastercard comprises about 0.9% of Strategic Financial Concepts LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $54,000. Raelipskie Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 120.0% during the third quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 110 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $55,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DZ Bank upgraded shares of 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. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $640.00 target price (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $568.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 844,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,554,926. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $576.94. The company has a market capitalization of $521.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $537.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $511.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

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.