Capital Investment Advisors LLC Has $5.50 Million Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 19.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,447 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,696 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,501,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America increased their target price on Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.13.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1 %

MA stock opened at $505.27 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $425.48 and a twelve month 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 firm has a market cap of $463.75 billion, a PE ratio of 38.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day moving average of $524.08 and a 200 day moving average of $492.75.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted 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 business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company’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 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board 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.