YHB Investment Advisors Inc. Has $2.26 Million Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

YHB Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,292 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 141 shares during the quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Acorn Creek Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $313,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Bank boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 2,784 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,466,000 after purchasing an additional 988 shares during the last quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $888,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,593 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $16,109,000 after purchasing an additional 5,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,194 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,209,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $547.53 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $502.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $524.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $497.91. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $547.99.

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

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 23.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $567.29.

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.