9,539 Shares in Mastercard Incorporated $MA Acquired by Buffalo Business & Estate Services Ltd.

Buffalo Business & Estate Services Ltd. acquired a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 9,539 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,446,000. Mastercard comprises about 0.8% of Buffalo Business & Estate Services Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vulcan Value Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC now owns 466,222 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $265,233,000 after purchasing an additional 28,331 shares during the last quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 153.6% in the third quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,856 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,625,000 after buying an additional 1,730 shares in the last quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $1,113,000. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 309,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $175,872,000 after acquiring an additional 4,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 15,335 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,723,000 after acquiring an additional 7,215 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on Mastercard from $707.00 to $631.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore restated a “negative” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $730.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $656.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $664.40.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE:MA opened at $493.55 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77. The company has a market cap of $440.15 billion, a PE ratio of 29.88, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $516.31 and a 200-day moving average of $544.30.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $8.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.80 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.65% and a return on equity of 203.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.82 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.07%.

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.