SRS Capital Advisors Inc. Purchases 2,304 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 36.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,575 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,304 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Bailard Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,074 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,145,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 9,112 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,789,000 after buying an additional 1,454 shares during the period. Maia Wealth LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 6,898 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,778,000 after buying an additional 655 shares during the period. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 3,544 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,866,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Up 2.0 %

NYSE:MA opened at $576.08 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $542.83 and a 200 day moving average of $517.61. The firm has a market cap of $525.22 billion, a PE ratio of 41.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

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.