Miracle Mile Advisors LLC Buys 10,240 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 128.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 18,228 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,240 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $9,598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $566.13.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $505.27. The company had a trading volume of 2,885,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,533,762. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $425.48 and a 1 year high of $537.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company has a market cap of $463.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day moving average of $524.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $492.31.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated 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 reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Mastercard

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.