Ketron Financial Purchases New Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Ketron Financial acquired a new position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,952 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,827,000. Mastercard accounts for about 0.9% of Ketron Financial’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vulcan Value Partners LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 6.5% during the third quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC now owns 466,222 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $265,233,000 after buying an additional 28,331 shares in the last quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,113,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 229,299 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $130,902,000 after acquiring an additional 9,795 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 396.3% during the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 46,145 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,343,000 after acquiring an additional 36,848 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marble Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,328,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $605.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $735.00 to $675.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $730.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $656.04.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $490.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $464.52 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $498.76 and its 200 day moving average is $521.76. The firm has a market cap of $433.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.74.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.73 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 20.14%.

About Mastercard

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.