Generate Investment Management Ltd Purchases 3,823 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Generate Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,823 shares during the quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $11,376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter worth about $31,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock opened at $577.33 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77. The company has a market cap of $518.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $555.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $565.53.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. Mastercard had a return on equity of 202.03% and a net margin of 45.28%.The business had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Compass Point set a $620.00 target price on Mastercard and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley set a $665.00 price objective on Mastercard and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $654.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $610.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $657.48.

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.