McAdam LLC Raises Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

McAdam LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 25.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,474 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. McAdam LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $776,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth $39,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth $54,000. Raelipskie Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 120.0% during the third quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth about $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Macquarie boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $595.64.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $555.63 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $528.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $501.43. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $509.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.00, a PEG ratio of 2.23 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 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted 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 expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

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

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.