Archer Investment Corp Has $1.90 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Archer Investment Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,611 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 110 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth $25,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $55,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.1 %

Mastercard stock opened at $567.12 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $520.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $530.33 and a 200-day moving average of $503.85. 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 Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $603.08.

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.