Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Purchased by Retirement Guys Formula LLC

Retirement Guys Formula LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,124 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avion Wealth raised its stake in Mastercard by 154.7% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 354 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,894 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $997,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 9,804 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,162,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Inc. OK raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 1,400 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $737,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 2,589 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,363,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $603.08.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $564.79 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $532.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $507.00. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $576.94. The stock has a market cap of $518.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.66, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Company 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.