Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Bought by Traveka Wealth LLC

Traveka Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,478 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $778,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Unique Wealth LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 3,720 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,959,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $512,000. Marion Wealth Management grew its holdings in Mastercard by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Marion Wealth Management now owns 5,755 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,030,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Courier Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $3,867,000. Finally, Parisi Gray Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Parisi Gray Wealth Management now owns 14,896 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,844,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $505.27 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $425.48 and a 1 year high of $537.70. 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 company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $524.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $492.75.

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

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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 dividend of $0.76 per share. 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. Macquarie raised their target price on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $566.13.

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.