Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. Buys 676 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 30.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,891 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 676 shares during the quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Mastercard during the second quarter worth $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter worth $35,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased 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 valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $508.49 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $524.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $493.23. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $425.48 and a twelve month high of $537.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $466.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.39 earnings per share. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, November 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Four 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $566.63.

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.