HB Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

HB Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 18.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 23,245 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,558 shares during the quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $12,240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. KRS Capital Management LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 2,755 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,451,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 60,583 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,901,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,586 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,415,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. lifted its position in Mastercard by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 2,391 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,259,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $205,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Four equities research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.63.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.4 %

Mastercard stock traded up $2.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $525.22. The company had a trading volume of 2,373,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,205,146. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $427.45 and a 12 month high of $537.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $524.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $493.64. The company has a market capitalization of $482.06 billion, a PE ratio of 39.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This is a positive change 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 dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.97%.

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