Center For Asset Management LLC Purchases 276 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Center For Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 36.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,040 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the quarter. Center For Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $548,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MA. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $567.29.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $533.50 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $537.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $524.77 and a 200 day moving average of $497.91. The company has a market cap of $489.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.36, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.