Independent Advisor Alliance Buys 1,265 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Independent Advisor Alliance grew its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,187 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,265 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $14,316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 483.3% in the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 price objective (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $546.98 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $545.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $521.14. The company has a market cap of $498.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.38, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its 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 net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid 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 Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.