TB Alternative Assets Ltd. Buys New Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

TB Alternative Assets Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 3,792 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,997,000. Mastercard makes up 0.5% of TB Alternative Assets Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp upped their target price on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 price objective (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $572.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.63.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA opened at $525.22 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $482.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $524.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $494.92. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $427.45 and a 52-week high of $537.70.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its 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 prior year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.