Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Purchased by Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC

Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,686 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $888,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter worth about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Macquarie boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho upped their price objective on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $572.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, UBS Group upped 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $567.29.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $547.53 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $547.99. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $524.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $497.91. The firm has a market cap of $502.53 billion, a PE ratio of 41.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 23.00%.

Mastercard Company 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.