Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,194 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kathmere Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth $665,000. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 1.7% during the second quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,167 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $956,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 10.6% during the second quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,832 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,132,000 after buying an additional 463 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 25,565 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,278,000 after buying an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aviso Wealth Management grew its holdings in Mastercard by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 1,925 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $849,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $533.50 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $489.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.36, a PEG ratio of 2.10 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. The business’s 50 day moving average is $524.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $497.91. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $537.70.

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

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on MA. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Citigroup increased their target price on Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Four 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $567.29.

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.